VRYBURG – A corruption-convicted pair — former Chief Financial Officer of the Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality Morufa Moloto (39) and her partner Letladika Ramoroka (41) — will know their fate during sentencing set for 6 July in the Vryburg Magistrate’s Court. They were convicted on 6 May in the same court on a corruption charge involving a laptop tender fraught with discrepancies.
Their conviction was the result of an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Mmabatho, which uncovered collusion to swindle the municipality out of a large amount of money in the procurement of the tender in 2018. The pair were released on bail of R15 000 each following their initial arrest by the Hawks in July 2024.
Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula, spokesperson for the Hawks in North West, said the pair’s conviction stems from a 2018 procurement scam where Moloto unlawfully awarded her partner’s company, Thatsofatso Trading & Projects, a R185 000 tender to supply eight laptops. An investigation revealed that Ramoroka was awarded the tender despite submitting the highest bid.
Mathebula said an investigation established that five other bidders who had submitted lower quotations were ignored.
“The municipality paid R185 000 into the business account of Ramoroka for the supply and delivery of eight laptops. An intensive investigation revealed that Moloto overlooked five bidders whose quotations were lower than the winning bid. Meticulous probing established that only R35 000 was spent to purchase eight laptops, with the remaining R150 000 transferred from Ramoroka’s business account into the business account of Onalerena Consulting (Pty) Ltd, a private company of which Moloto was the director,” said Mathebula.
Moloto was acting municipal manager of the Madibeng Local Municipality during the arrest following her appointment in April 2024. She was initially appointed as CFO at the municipality in 2023. Despite the laptop corruption case lingering, Moloto was further appointed as CFO by another government entity — the North West Parks and Tourism Board in June last year — sparking backlash from civil rights organisation AfriForum, the Public Servants Association (PSA) and the DA.
