Traffic Police
25 May 2021
Warrant officer Butifana Maholobela was caught driving his private car without a seat belt by a traffic officer who then issued a summons against the accused for contravening the Road Traffic Act. Instead of paying the fine, Maholobela in retaliation pinned a case of culpable homicide he was investigating on the traffic official and demanded R10,000 from traffic officer to make the docket disappear.
The traffic officer turned to the Hawks for help. They investigated the claims and subsequently arrested Maholobela. He was found guilty when he appeared in the Tzaneen magistrate’s court on Friday. He is due back in court on June 4 for sentencing.
In another unrelated case, a Free State police officer was arrested for extortion and corruption on Friday. The the 32-year-old officer was attached to the organised crime unit when he was arrested while on duty. The officer had extorted money from a fraud suspect in exchange for making the case disappear. Transactions made by the suspect to the member were traced and he was arrested. The officer is expected to appear in the Ficksburg magistrate’s court on Monday.
In another unrelated case, Two Durban policemen were each given a 10-year prison sentence after they were found guilty of corruption in the Durban specialised commercial crimes court. Sergeants Musawenkosi Mbusi Mabaso, 46, and Thulani Patrick Dlangalala, 46, were requested by their supervisor to assist in collecting a suspect who was arrested on arrival at King Shaka International Airport. After collecting the suspect from the airport and on their way to the police station, they demanded R7,000 from the suspect so that he could be released and attend court the following day on his own accord. They then made a call to the suspects father and collect R4,500 from him. They released the suspect on condition that they pay the remaining R2,500 later that day. The suspect’s father alerted the Hawks and a trap was set up.
Upon arrest, the “trap” money and the initial R4,500 were found in their possession.
TimesLive reported.
