A 48 year old man who was reportedly assaulted by a Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) member in 2015, has been convicted for corruption after he extorted a bribe from the said officer in order to avoid testifying in an arbitration procedure.
Christopher Bekwa laid charges against the JMPD official and following an internal hearing, the officer was subsequently dismissed in October 2017. During the arbitration process, Bekwa allegedly demanded a bribe of R9000 from the axed official in order for Bekwa not to testify in the procedure which he stated could give the officer a chance of being reinstated.
Bekwa was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit in October 2018, following a sting operation where the bribe money was found in his possession near Roodepoort, but not before he was restrained after he reportedly resisted and tried to grab the arresting officer’s firearm.
Bekwa has been found guilty on one count of corruption and sentenced to a fine of R5000 or five years imprisonment and a further three years imprisonment which is suspended for three years by the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 13 August 2019, he has further been declared unfit to possess a firearm.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
