A sitting Thulamela Local Municipality councillor has been arrested for allegedly attempting to bribe a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigator with R70,000 to derail a corruption probe into the Mahikeng Local Municipality in North West.
Netshivhumbe Gumani (44) was arrested on Thursday in a joint entrapment operation involving the SIU and South African Police Service units, including the Mmabatho-based Serious Corruption Investigation team, the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit, and the Mahikeng Tactical Response Team from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks).
He faces a charge of corruption.
The SIU is investigating allegations of maladministration and corruption at the Mahikeng municipality under Proclamation R213 of 2024. The probe centres on two tenders awarded by the municipality: a lease agreement dated 15 December 2015, and a full maintenance lease agreement dated 23 February 2016. According to the SIU, forensic analysis uncovered suspicious financial flows from the municipality’s service provider to unrelated companies and individuals.
The SIU said Gumani had first approached one investigator on the case, who refused his offer outright. He then turned to a senior investigator, allegedly offering R70,000 to “close one eye” and ignore evidence gathered in the investigation. On Wednesday, during a meeting in Mahikeng, he allegedly handed over R10,000 in cash as a first instalment of the bribe.
The SIU said Gumani had also approached a third official from its head office the previous weekend.
After being alerted, SAPS and the Hawks authorised an entrapment operation. Gumani was arrested immediately after handing over the cash, which was seized and counted in the presence of law enforcement officers.
He appeared in the Molopo Magistrates’ Court in Mahikeng and the case was postponed to 29 June for a bail application.
In a statement, the SIU said the arrest sent “a strong deterrent message” that corruption would not be tolerated and that anyone attempting to corrupt its investigators would face “the full might of the law.”
From what could be established, Gumani is one of the ANC's proportional representation (PR) councillors at Thulamela Local Municipality. In 2021, he served as regional chairperson of the South African Youth Council, which instituted court proceedings seeking the dismissal of Thulamela's municipal manager over the municipality's investment in VBS.
This is a developing story.