Publications
- Three Mpumalanga men made their first court appearance on Friday.
- The trio is accused of theft and intimidation.
- They allegedly demanded a share of R2 million rand from an NPO.
Three men accused of theft and intimidation, after demanding a share of R2 million from a non-profit organisation (NPO) based in Kwaggafontein, made their first court appearance on Friday.
The R2 million was reportedly paid by the Mpumalanga health department to the NPO in December 2020.
The money was paid to the NPO to assist the department with HIV/AIDS and TB testing.
According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha, the unit investigated the matter last year and charged Jacob Gabisani Shaka Twala, 45, Lucky Thulani Sithole, 34, and Emmanuel Solly Machava, 42.
"The investigation revealed that on more than two occasions the accused met with the owner of the NPO and demanded to be paid from the entity's coffers," Ramovha said.
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In one such meeting, one of the accused took the owner of the NPO's laptop and transferred amounts, ranging from R100 000 to R150 000, to different bank accounts.
Ramovha said the owner of the NPO was only able to stop two transactions before it was processed.
He said one other man, Manqoba Daniel Sibanyoni, is on the run.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the investigating officer, Captain Thembelani Nkambule, on 082 303 9872.
The case against the trio has been postponed to 15 February 2022 for further investigation as well as the tracing of Sibanyoni .
