Two former Karoo Hoogland Municipality senior employees have been sentenced in the Williston Regional Court for corruption.
The former municipal manager‚ Louis Nothnagel (55) and former chief financial officer‚ Marius Botha (58), together with the owner of an alleged bogus company‚ Ockert Tobias Cloete (65)‚ were sentenced on Wednesday.
Botha and Cloete were each sentenced to five years imprisonment for corruption, four years for money laundering and two years for four counts of fraud, Hawks spokesperson Captain Philani Nkwalase said on Thursday.
Cloete was given an additional eight years imprisonment for a separate fraud charge.
“All these were said to run concurrently. Botha will effectively serve five years imprisonment, while Cloete will serve eight years,” said Nkwalase.
Nothnagel was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with an alternative R5 000 fine for contravention of section 173 (1) of Municipal Finance Management Act no 53 of 2003, which translates to negligence or failure prevent corruption.
The Acting National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant General Yoliswa Matakata, has welcomed the sentence against the trio.
“This sentence will serve as a deterrent to all acts of corruption, particularly the public service sector. Those that witness corruption have an obligation to report it. Failure to do so will result in one being prosecuted”.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
