A traffic officer and a former chief traffic officer from the Makhado Municipality have been granted bail after being arrested for allegedly defrauding taxi operators of more than R100,000 by selling fake operating permits.
The arrests took place on Friday, 18 July. The duo, Jan Zitha (65) and Gushile William Mathonsi (55), appeared in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's Court on Monday, 21 July.
Zitha, a former chief traffic officer from Bungeni, and Mathonsi, a traffic officer from Waterval, face 25 charges, including fraud, corruption and contravention of the National Road Traffic Act. They were arrested by the Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation Unit in Musina, following a probe into alleged corrupt activities that took place between 2016 and 2018.
According to Hawks spokesperson W/O Lethunya Muroa, the accused allegedly approached taxi operators and offered to secure legal operating permits in exchange for payment.
"The complainants paid R108,610 but never received any permits. After repeated failed attempts to recover their money, they reported the matter, prompting a formal investigation. The suspects were traced and arrested in Waterval and Bungeni near Elim. They were taken to court and each granted bail of R6,000," said Muroa.
The case has been postponed to 3 September 2025 for further investigation. The arrests were welcomed by the Hawks' provincial head in Limpopo, Maj-Gen (Advocate) Gopz Govender, who commended the investigation team. "This case demonstrates our commitment to rooting out corruption, especially when it undermines service delivery and erodes public trust in government institutions," said Govender.
The investigation is ongoing, and the Hawks have not ruled out the possibility of further arrests.