{"id":297206,"date":"2026-03-31T09:23:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/?p=297206"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:23:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T07:23:37","slug":"hawks-secure-conviction-in-r1-9-million-municipal-fraud-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peexpress\/hawks-secure-conviction-in-r1-9-million-municipal-fraud-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks secure conviction in R1.9 million municipal fraud case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KUGOMPO CITY<\/strong> – The Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit (SCCI) in KuGompo City (previously known as East London) has welcomed the conviction of two individuals in a municipal procurement fraud case that resulted in losses of R1.9 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zukile Innocent Msipa (44) and Unathi Mbeka (45) were found guilty on three counts of fraud each in the East London Regional Court yesterday (30 March).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to provincial Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, the offences were committed between 2018 and 2019 and stemmed from a public tender issued by the Ngqushwa Local Municipality for the electrification of households in several villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAM Engineering Consulting (Pty) Ltd, which had been appointed as the service provider, submitted invoices claiming payment for services that were never rendered,\u201d said Mhlakuvana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigations revealed that a municipal official, acting in the capacity of an engineer, knowingly certified the invoices as legitimate by signing off on them, falsely indicating that contractual obligations had been fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This misrepresentation enabled the unlawful payment of municipal funds, resulting in a total loss of R1,913,569.07 (approximately R1.9 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AM Engineering Consulting (Pty) Ltd pleaded guilty on 5 February and was convicted on three counts of fraud. The company was sentenced to a caution and discharge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The matter has been postponed to 15 April for sentencing, with bail set at R10,000 for each accused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSO READ: <\/strong>Two men and companies charged in R893k municipal fraud case<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zukile Innocent Msipa (44) and Unathi Mbeka (45) were found guilty on three counts of fraud in the East London Regional Court yesterday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":52219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"84","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"0","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[]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