DURBAN – A former acting Fleet Control Advisor at Msunduzi Municipality has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted on corruption charges, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced on Tuesday.
Nhlakanipho Wiseman Dlamini, 45, was found guilty of two counts of corruption relating to procuring tenders and corrupt activities involving public officials. The Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court handed down the sentence following crimes committed between November 2019 and January 2020.
According to court documents, Dlamini approached EWCop, a company previously contracted to supply and maintain vehicle tracking devices for municipal vehicles, and offered to secure a pending tender in their favor.
“The accused solicited R100 000 from EWCop to ensure that outstanding payments for their month-to-month contract would be processed,” said NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara. “This was a clear abuse of his position for personal gain.”
After EWCop’s original contract with the municipality had ended in 2018, it was extended on a month-to-month basis while awaiting the outcome of a new tender award. It was during this period that Dlamini saw an opportunity to exploit the situation.
Authorities set up a trap in accordance with Section 252A of the Criminal Procedure Act, resulting in Dlamini’s arrest when he accepted the marked money.
“The evidence from the Section 252A trap and related audio recordings formed a crucial part of the state’s case,” Ramkisson-Kara explained. “The prosecution, led by Advocate Reenai Ramouthar, successfully demonstrated the accused’s criminal intent beyond reasonable doubt.”
Dlamini received eight years’ imprisonment on each corruption count, with six years from the second count ordered to run concurrently with the first, resulting in an effective 10-year sentence.
“The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution,” said Ramkisson-Kara. “Together with our partners in the Justice Cluster, we will ensure that corrupt officials are brought to book. Rooting out corruption remains an organizational priority.”
The case is seen as part of broader efforts to combat corruption within municipal structures across the country.
