By Louise Flanagan
A security guard who won the BMW of his dreams in a cellphone competition found it was a fast ride into trouble.
His win has now become the consolation prize for a Limpopo rural municipality, which will keep it as the mayor's second, smaller car.
Tsheko Maloma worked for the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality in Groblersdal and in November 2007, he stole a Vodacom 3G datacard from the municipality. He used it to enter the Vodacom 100 Cars competition, running up a bill of R277 484 - and winning a BMW 320i.
The competition cost R10 for each SMS, so he must have sent nearly 28 000 text messages.
"Vodacom representatives called the number and he confirmed that he was the registered user of the number," said the Asset Forfeiture Unit yesterday. The BMW was registered in his name and delivered to a Pretoria motor dealership for him.
He immediately drove it across town to another dealership and arranged for them to sell it.
Eventually the municipality realised something was wrong and called Vodacom, who told them about the BMW winner.
Inspector Maphini Mashigoane of the Groblersdal police started searching for Maloma and the BMW. "On June 24, 2008, he received information that the car was at Groblersdal Police Station for clearance. He went to the police station and impounded the vehicle," said the unit.
A week later Maloma handed himself over to Groblersdal police. He was charged with theft and subsequently convicted.
Last December, a year after Maloma won the car, the unit got a preservation order against it and then a final confiscation order in April. The unit started making plans to sell the BMW. But this would have meant an even bigger loss for the municipality. So the municipality decided to keep the car.
On Wednesday Sekhukhune mayor David Magabe will take delivery of the BMW and Maloma will go to court to take delivery of his sentence.