Polokwane - Three more people, including a former member of parliament, have been arrested in connection with the R4.8 million Makgatho Community Property Association theft and fraud case, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, in Limpopo said on Sunday.
The three, aged between 51 and 70, were arrested over the weekend and were a former member of parliament, a former chairperson of the Makgatho Community Property Association, and a bank employee, Limpopo Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke said in a statement.
A 53-year-old senior official of the Molemole Local Municipality was arrested by members of the Hawks serious commercial crime investigation unit in Polokwane on Friday.
"The 70-year-old former chairperson was arrested at his home in Ga Makgatho village on Friday evening while the 51-year-old bank employee handed himself to the serious commercial crime investigation team members in Polokwane on Saturday. The former MP was arrested on Sunday morning at his home in Kanana village," Maluleke said.
The Hawks received a tip-off in 2018 about the theft of money at the Makgatho Community Property Association, allegedly by some of the committee members.
The investigation revealed that between 2015 and 2018 the senior municipal official was mentoring the community association and allegedly connived with other committee members of the association to award a farming tender to a company linked to his wife without following due processes.
"It was further revealed that the company never rendered any service to the community despite having received over R4.8 million from the association," Maluleke said.
All four suspects would appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Monday to face theft charges.
African News Agency/ANA