PORT ELIZABETH - MAN JAILED FOR STEALING ALMOST R20 MILLION FROM PE MUNICIPALITY

A member of a syndicate accused of defrauding the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality of nearly R20-million has been given a lengthy jail sentence in city's regional court.Magistrate Tobie Gerber, on Friday sentenced Mduduzi Mkhize to 15 years in jail, for his role in stealing R19.7 million from the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in 2009.

Mkhize was one of eight people who installed a software programme on a municipal computer to record keystrokes, thereby gaining access to the municipality's main Standard Bank account.

Mkhize was also found guilty of contravening the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act.

Magistrate Tobie Gerber said the state was able to prove that Mkhize, who pleaded not guilty, was a key role player in the syndicate.

Gerber said testimonies by Mkhize's two accomplices, Sipho Msomi and Nokuthula Magubane, corroborated the state's evidence.

They have already pleaded guilty and are also serving 15 year sentences.One piece of evidence presented by the state was video footage from the Port Elizabeth airport of the suspects boarding a flight to Johannesburg after the first transaction in 2009.

Two accomplices have already pleaded guilty and are also serving 15 year sentences.The trial of the accused had been separated and are still pending.

VIA - algoafm.co.za