Deputy national police commissioner Bonang Mgwenya allegedly manipulated tender specifications for the benefit of a businessman who scored a contract to fit police vehicles with blue lights in return for a discounted BMW X5 and a safe installed in her house.
This is according to an indictment before the Johannesburg specialised commercial crime's court sitting in Palm Ridge where Mgwenya appeared on charges of fraud and corruption yesterday.
Mgwenya, a divisional commissioner for Human Resource, according to the state, scored savings worth around R1-million on a BMW X5 SUV after controversial businessman Phineas Manthatha who was awarded R191-million contract for bluelights by Gauteng police allegedly with her assistance, paid a deposit for her.
"Accused 15 (Mgwenya) was a role player in the process of manipulating the specifications which resulted in the award of a contract to fit emergency warning equipment to Gauteng SAPS motor vehicles," read the indictment.
According to the charge sheet Mgwenya, 56, paid just R255,000 for the vehicle after Manthatha paid a R440,000 towards the purchase price and further negotiated a further discount of R284,580 after he was awarded a grossly-inflated blue lights contract which had committed the SAPS to expenses amounting to R191-million.
Mgwenya joins a list of other high profile former police generals charged for the awarding of the blue light tender. The top cops in the matter include former commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, former Gauteng provincial commissioner Deliwe de Lange and Gauteng deputy police Commissioner Major-General Brigadier Nombhuruza Lettie Napo.
Other accused in the matter include Lt-Gen Ramahlapi Johannes Mokwena (a retired Divisional Commissioner), Brigadier James Ramanjalum, and Maj-Gen Ravichandran Pillay, Col Thomas Dumas Marima, and Seargent Maetapese Joseph Mulaiwa.
The charge sheet alleged that Mgwenya played a key role in Manthatha's winning the grossly-inflated contract and was rewarded with the deposit and a discount on the BMW X5 SUV.
The state further alleged that between the 1st of June 2016 and the 31st of May 2017, Manthatha had approached the Zambesi Auto car dealership and "initiated negotiations" for a motor vehicle to be made available to Mgwenya, a courtesy loan vehicle.
Mgwenya later "took possession of the BMW X5 and enjoyed the use and possession of the BMW X5 without having to pay anything to Zambezi Auto".
According to the indictment, Mgwenya could not pay cash for the motor vehicle and that she "also did not qualify for finance to purchase" it.
Mgwenya, was granted R20,000 bail after appearing on charges of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering for ensuring the contract went to Instrumentation for Traffic Law enforcement (Pty) Ltd, a company owned by Manthata while she enjoyed an undisclosed close relationship with the owner.
Manthatha is a controversial figure who had allegedly provided the Gupta family’s wedding guests’ convoy with vehicles fitted with blue lights when they were ferried to Sun City in April 2013 after their plane from India had landed at the Waterkloof Air Force Base.
Mgwenya's matter was postponed to November 16 in the case in which the state has levelled 329 counts of fraud, assisting another to benefit from the proceeds of unlawful activities, acquisition or possession or use of proceeds of unlawful activities, and the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Mgwenya's arrest has been hailed as another indication that the investigating directorate and the Hawks have grown teeth.
Gareth Newham, the head of Justice and Violence Prevention at the Institute for Security Studies said the increasing number of arrests of high level officials are the result of efforts to strengthen the Hawks and the NPA that started over the past few years.
"These may seem sudden developments in the public domain but in reality are the results of many months of hard painstaking work by dedicated investigators and prosecutors," Newham said.
David Lewis, executive director at Corruption Watch
said the arrests and the placing of these cases on a court was also demonstrating that the NPA and the Hawks were now working.
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