Cape Town – A former admin clerk at Eskom has been handed a 10-year prison sentence for defrauding the struggling power utility of more than R2.6 million.
Nwabisa Ngxola, 40, and her co-accused – businessman Michael Chimanzi and Eskom finance clerk Cinderella Moropane – were tried on 114 charges including fraud, theft and money laundering, and convicted in the Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the three acted in cahoots and submitted fraudulent invoices to the power utility.
“Ngxola’s password and username were used to capture certain payments to Mandla Lines CC, which is a legitimate company registered in the name of Chimanzi. The three shared the proceeds amongst themselves and they were arrested after the police received a tip-off.
“The supervisor of two Eskom officials testified about the extent of the damage caused to the business. Their evidence was supported by the owner of Mandla Lines, who confirmed that they colluded and provided false invoices to Eskom,” SA News quoited Nyuswa as saying.
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Nyuswa said that the magistrate in the case took several factors into consideration when sentencing Ngxola.
“[The magistrate] said Ngxola had enough time to retract herself from the offence, instead, she waited until the whistleblower reported the incident to Eskom. She sentenced the accused to 10 years imprisonment and upon conviction, Ngxola applied for leave to appeal her conviction and sentence, which was dismissed.
“Fraud is a pandemic that has engulfed our economy and is perpetrated by well-sophisticated people and should be stopped in its tracks,” Nyuswa said.
Meanwhile, according to Times Live, the case against Moropane was postponed to May 17 as she was hospitalised due to illness.
Chimanzi walked away with a suspended sentence in March after the same court sentenced him to eight years imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for five years, the report said.
In handing down sentence, magistrate Sheila Msibi said she took into consideration the personal circumstances of Chimanzi, the seriousness of the offence and the interests of justice. She also took into consideration that Chimanzi had already spent four years in prison awaiting trial, said the report.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
