SA National Defence Force members bust for PPE fraud
Four SA National Defence Force (SANDF) officials have been hauled before a military judge to face fraud and corruption charges in connection with the allegedly corrupt acquisition of personal protection equipment at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued on Saturday, SANDF said the officers had been arrested after an investigation and report by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU).
The report named 15 officials in the defence department involved in the alleged irregular procurement of PPE.
The SANDF statement read: “Although the SIU report refers to the conduct of these officials as misconduct, the report also alleges that some criminal activities like fraud by some officials warranted criminal action.
“Based on the SIU forensic report, military police opened up a criminal docket and conducted a prosecution-guided investigation. As a result of this investigation, on September 23, four of the 15 members of the SANDF were charged and appeared before the court of a senior military judge in Thaba Tshwane for arraignment.”
The statement said the case was postponed to October 6.
“Some members will appear in court next week. Members who have appeared in court are Lt Col VS Peu, Capt D Modise, Capt Tshikosi and Leading Seaman SS Jiane. They all worked at DOD’s Central Procurement Service Centre.”
SANDF chief Gen Rudzani Maphwanya condemned the officers alleged behaviour.
“The behaviour of these and other members will not be tolerated in the ranks of the defence force. We will make sure that we root out such elements so that the people we serve continue to have confidence in the SANDF.”
“We are expected to lead by example in the public eyes and anyone found to be in conflict with the code of conduct of the SANDF and the laws of this country will be dealt with harshly within the confines of the law”. — TimesLIVE