On Friday 08 March 2024, Bethuel Mthethwa (56) briefly appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court for fraud and corruption which happened at Jozini Local Municipality whilst he was a mayor.
It is alleged that the former Municipal Manager, Lonwabo Maka (57), created a need for a youth upliftment programme called the “Joy” project. A payment of R 5 million was made to a company called, Njabulo Landman Construction and Mining owned by Mandlenkosi Matutu (43). Maka allegedly used his position of authority and compelled employees in the Finance department to make the payment knowingly that it was unlawful to do so as there were no services rendered.
A case of fraud was reported at Jozini police station and the case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from Durban Serious Corruption Investigation. Maka and Matutu were arrested in September 2022. They were released on R10 000.00 bail each and Mthethwa was also released on R10 000.00 bail on Friday
They are all going to appear in the same court on 30 May 2024 and more arrests are expected.
