The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberley has sentenced Dr. Dion Theys, currently the acting Head of Department (HOD) of Health in the Northern Cape, after he was found guilty of contravening Section 86(1) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Theys, who was the acting HOD and accounting officer during the commissioning of the crime, was accused of having concluded three lease agreements with JP Hugo Trading, amounting to more than R13 million, without following proper PFMA prescripts and procurement processes, said Mojalefa Senokoatsane, regional spokesperson of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Northern Cape Division.
The trial, which took more than a year to conclude, was finalised when the court sentenced Theys on Wednesday, 16 August, to a fine of R150 000 or three years’ imprisonment, of which R100 000 or two years’ imprisonment is suspended for five years on condition that the accused is not found guilty of the same offence during the time of suspension.
The fine is payable as follows to the clerk of the court: R10 000 should be paid before or on 7 September, followed by R2 000 that should be paid before or on the seventh of each consecutive month until the fine is paid in full.
The trial, which started on 29 March last year, saw the prosecution led by senior Adv. Isaac Mphela of the Specialised Commercial Crimes unit (SCCU), calling on several witnesses to testify during the trial against the accused.
One of the first witnesses called was Justice Bekebeke, director general of the Northern Cape provincial government, who outlined the processes of the PFMA and how government personnel should toil when utilising the public purse, specifically applying the procurement processes.
The accused was released on bail of R30 000, with one of the conditions being that he surrender his passport.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Northern Cape, Livingstone Sakata, applauds the prosecution led by the head of the SCCU, Adv. Brian Mdlalose, senior state Adv. Isaac Mphela, and colleagues at the Hawks in getting a conviction on this complicated matter.
The DPP hopes this sentence will send a clear message to other perpetrators of corruption and fraud X that the NPA and law enforcement agencies are serious about fighting crime.
