The City of Tshwane, a take-away shop, telecommunications company and liquor stores are some of the companies whose names were used fraudulently to allegedly steal R24m from the South African State Theatre.
This according to a charge sheet in a fraud and money laundering case against two former employees at the theatre – Mokgadi Getrude Mooka, 44, and Patricia Mabena, 41.
Mooka, a former credit controller in the department of finance and Mabena, a supply chain manager, are among a group of eight who appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on fraud, theft and money laundering charges on Wednesday.
The other accused are Innocentia Buang Matseke, 44, Abel Mashaba,37, Dimakatso Mashishi, 38, Pauline Hlongoane, 59, Maletsatsi Motswetsie, 27, and Dimakatso Konaite, 40. They are believed to be relatives of Mooka and Mabena.
The accused are believed to have used well-known companies to invoice the SAST; however, they presented their account number, resulting in money being deposited into their personal bank accounts.
According to the charge sheet, City of Tshwane’s name was used on five invoices between 2017 and 2019, claiming an amount of more than R1m, while the sandwich company was used to claim five invoices totaling an amount of R55,270 since 2015 until 2019.
Names of two liquor stores were used to invoice more than R700,000 from six invoices between 2015 and 2017, while a network service provider invoiced the theatre R44,718, with two payments made in 2015.
Motswetsie is alleged to have gotten R3,6m between 2014 and 2019, while Hlongoane apparently got R265,805 in 2019. Mashaba allegedly received R7m.
The theatre’s CEO, Dr Sibongiseni Mkhize, said they had managed to recover less than a million from the two accused’s pension funds after they had approached the court to recoup the money.
“We are now putting our hopes on the justice system and hope that people are held accountable because they did not steal for state theatre only, they stole for the people of SA because it is state money.”
The accused appeared in court with their masks covering their faces and barely looking at the magistrate after he denied their application to prevent media from taking photos of them.
Mooka told the court that she was currently unemployed and that she could afford a bail of R1,500 that would be raised by family and friends.
Meanwhile, Mabena told the court that she could raise bail money amounting to R3,000.
Mabena resigned from the theatre in December 2019 while investigations into the alleged crime were ongoing. She went through a disciplinary hearing while she was serving notice and was fired the following month.
Mooka faced the same disciplinary hearing and was also fired in 2020.
Magistrate Ignatius Du Prez granted the accused bail after state prosecutor Adv Lucas Motseki told the court that they had no reasons to oppose the bail application.
The suspects are all expected to appear again in February.
newsdesk@sowetan.co.za
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