DURBAN - A KWAZULU-NATAL prosecutor has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment for corruption and subsequently dismissed from the National Prosecuting Authority.
Forty-two-year-old Zanele Molefe was convicted of corruption, theft and defeating the course of justice after she asked a man for R1000 in exchange for making his case go away.
NPA spokesperson in KZN, Natasha Kara, said in May 2015, when Molefe was employed at the Mooi River Magistrate's Court, a man crashed into a local shop and the owner opened a case of malicious damage to property was opened.
"Molefe approached the suspect asking him for R1000 to make the case go away. He paid her the money and between himself and the shop owner, they came to an agreement. Molefe further told the man that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case and the suspect offered to pay for the damages," Kara.
She said the two men agreed that a payment of R10 000 would resolve the matter.
"Three weeks later they met at a nearby petrol station and the shop owner asked about the money. The suspect said he had paid the money to Molefe," she said.
Kara said Molefe had called the suspect and made plans to collect the money, promising to pay it to the store owner.
"He had met her outside the court building and gave her the money in a plastic packet, which she put into her purse.
“The correct procedure was that Molefe should have made the arrangements via the court system instead of accepting the money in her personal capacity.
“The shop owner then went to Molefe’s office and confronted her about the money. She told him that she had spent it but agreed to pay him instalments of R2 500, which she did," Kara said.
Regional Court Prosecutor, Sharlene Lupke, led the evidence of the two men - who turned state witness - admitting his wrongfulness in paying the R1 000 initially.
Kara said of Molefe’s eight-year sentence - three years are suspended for a period of five years. She said Molefe was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for theft and two years imprisonment for defeating the course of justice. The sentences for theft and defeating will run concurrently with the corruption sentence.
In aggravation of sentence, Lupke told the court that Molefe abused her position of trust and failed to deliver on her mandate as a prosecutor.
The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA was also involved and they secured a confiscation order to the value of R4 000.
This amount will go into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA) where funds recovered from the proceeds of crime are deposited into and then used in the fight against crime.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the province, Advocate Elaine Zungu welcomed the conviction and sentence.
"The case is an example of the NPA’s commitment to deal with corruption within our own ranks and bring to justice those who do not share our vision and mission in the NPA," she said.
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