Two KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate officers have each been sentenced to six years for soliciting a R3,500 bribe.

Bongani Buthelezi and Nomcebo Dube appeared in the Durban commercial crime court on Friday. The pair stopped a motorist in Gingindlovu, northern KZN, in 2017 for allegedly overtaking two vehicles on a solid barrier line.

They demanded R3,500, which the motorist paid, under the impression the money was for bail.

“He was not issued with a receipt or given a date to appear in court. He was instead given a cellphone number which belonged to one of the officials, which was linked to a Capitec bank account to deposit money into,” said the department of transport in a statement on Wednesday.

After depositing the money, the man was released.

KZN MEC for transport Bheki Ntuli applauded the complainant for reporting the matter and said the case was evidence that even government officials would face consequences if they broke the law.

“I encourage all motorists to report such crimes so that we can curb corruption at all levels. I want to issue a strong warning to officers to refrain from soliciting bribes from road transgressors because that defeats our efforts of fighting the decay of corruption and fighting against road carnages,” said Ntuli

One year of the officers' sentences was suspended for five years.