DURBAN - A POLICEMAN based at the SAPS vehicle pound in Isipingo, south of Durban, charged an unsuspecting couple R4 000 to perform routine administrative duties when he should not have done so.
On Monday, Constable Mbongeleni Ernest Goqo was sentenced to six years in jail for this act of corruption, of which three years were suspended for a period of five years, provided he did not commit a similar crime in that time.
In the past, the pound has been described as a den for shady deal making between members of the public, criminal syndicates dealing in cars and spare parts, pound officials and others.
To get deals moving and services rendered, the palms of certain pound officials required greasing.
This, in spite of tight security features at the facility.
Magistrate Fariedah Mohamed, who presided over Goqo’s case in the Durban Regional Court, was aware of the pound’s notorious reputation and said cases of a similar nature were also being dealt with by other courts.
Mohamed was at odds with how Goqo took advantage of Amina Sidat and her husband Zayd, charging them R4 000 for a police clearance on the vehicle they bought in March 2018.
The couple from Havenside, Chatsworth, were unaware that the clearance was not a fee-bearing service, and complied with Goqo’s request for cash because they wanted their car to be on the road.
Zayd Sidat had been medically boarded from work after suffering a stroke, which also impaired his speech.
From the meagre lump sum payout he had received, the couple spent R51 000, (a sizeable portion to them), to buy a VW Polo to help them get around, especially to Zayd’s medical appointments.
They then attempted to license the vehicle in April 2018 and learnt that a SAPS clearance was needed.
Goqo handled their matter. After inspecting their vehicle, he decided to impound it because he suspected it was stolen. Amina Sidat then made various trips to the pound to check about her car’s clearance, but each time she was told that the matter was being investigated.
Her brother-in-law, Faheem Mahomed, who had assisted them with the sale and the clearance, told her that a colleague at a local refinery where he worked knew someone at the pound who could help with the clearance, at a price.
It turned out to be Goqo. An appointment with Goqo at the pound was set for 11am on July 14, 2018. He only arrived at 4.30pm, claiming he had being attending a court matter.
In Goqo’s office, Faheem Mohamed handed over the R4 000 with the Sidats present.
Thinking it was an authentic transaction, Amina Sidat requested a receipt and Goqo promised to arrange one. With the paperwork now completed, the couple were still unable to drive their car away because it was after office hours.
Amina Sidat returned after the weekend only to find the car was without tyres, rims and its radio. Goqo was not present, so she complained to Colonel Pierre Els. Thereafter, Els received an anonymous call tipping him off about Sidat’s payment for clearance.
Els questioned her in the pound
Sunday, March 21 2021 and she confirmed paying Goqo R4 000, believing that it was required. The SAPS’ anti-corruption unit was informed and they arrested Goqo.
Mohamed said the State, led by prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay, proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
With Amina Sidat requesting a receipt and asking her husband and brother-in-law to accompany her to pay Goqo, the magistrate said it showed her simplicity and she also came across as a “meek and mild” person who genuinely believed she had to pay.
Mohamed said Goqo, who pleaded not guilty, was “evasive and long winded” when testifying.
He claimed that Amina Sidat made the allegations against him because of the missing tyres, rims and radio. Goqo also said he couldn’t prepare adequately and couldn’t remember dates because he didn’t have the case file, but Mohamed noticed a defence witness testified that he had had the file until January 2021.
Mohamed said Goqo was a poor witness and found his version of events to be false and that he accepted the R4 000 for his personal benefit.
“This way of receiving money tarnishes the reputation of the SAPS.
“Corruption also reduces the respect ordinary citizens have for the police and it reduces the morale of the honest and hard-working policemen. It must be eradicated,” said Mohamed.
Amina Sidat welcomed the judgment and sentence.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE