Former Proteas international Bodi sentenced to 5 years for spot fixing

Cricketer Gulam Bodi appears in the Commercial Crimes court in Pretoria in 2018 for for match fixing charges. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA)

Cricketer Gulam Bodi appears in the Commercial Crimes court in Pretoria in 2018 for for match fixing charges. Picture: Oupa Mokoena/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Oct 18, 2019

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JOHANNESBURG – Former Proteas international Gulam Bodi was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the spot fixing saga in the Ram Slam T20 tournament in 2015.

Bodi pleaded guilty to eight charges of corruption, after being charged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, which makes provision for the prosecution of corrupt behaviour within sporting events. 

Sentence was handed down in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Friday.  

Bodi was the central figure in an ultimately futile attempt to fix parts of matches in the 2015/16 Ram Slam , that also involved six other players, including another former international Alviro Petersen, a teammate of Bodi’s at the Lions franchise, when the scheme was concocted.

Bodi, a big hitting left-hand batsman played two One-Day Internationals and one T20 international for South Africa in 2007, was the middle-man between an Indian betting syndicate and the players.

Following a Cricket South Africa investigation in 2016, Bodi was banned from all aspects of the game for 20 years under CSA’s Anti-Corruption Code. His fellow conspirators, Petersen, Thami Tsolekile and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who all played Test cricket for the Proteas, Jean Symes, Pumi Matshikwe and Ethy Mbhalati were all banned from the sport by CSA for periods ranging between two and 12 years. 

According to website, criccbuzz.com, Bodi will be appealing the sentence. 

Good day for cricket!!!

Gulam Bodi just been sentenced to 5 years in prison.

He will apply for leave to Appeal and to extend bail his bail, pending the outcome of the appeal.

— Alviro Petersen (@AlviroPetersen) October 18, 2019

Taking to twitter on Friday, Petersen, who was in court at the time the sentence was handed down, wrote: “Good day for cricket!!!”

However that tweet was met with derision by former England international, Kevin Pietersen, who tweeted back: “You’ve really tweeted this when YOU were banned for two years for the part YOU played?!? Wow!”

You’ve really tweeted this when YOU were banned for two years for the part YOU played?!?!

Wow!

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) October 18, 2019

Petersen claimed he didn’t take any money from Bodi but admitted to four counts of failing to disclose the details of approaches; four counts of not providing sufficient information to investigators and one count of concealing or destroying evidence.

@shockerhess

 

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