Former Thulamela mayor and MM's corruption case set for pre-trial

The corruption case against the Thulamela municipal manager (MM), Mr Hlengani Emanuel Maluleke (52), and the former mayor of Thulamela, Mr Avhashoni Stephen Tshifhango (49), was postponed to 20 July 2022 for a pre-trial date.

The two accused appeared before the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, 24 May. They were arrested in February this year on allegations of corruption and maladministration in connection with the looting of the VBS Mutual Bank.

Tshifhango is alleged to have received a Jeep Cherokee 3.6L VVT Overland, valued at over
R600 000, as gratification for the investment made by Thulamela Municipality with VBS, while Maluleke is said to have been in contempt and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). They are both out on bail of R30 000 each.

At least 20 municipalities in Limpopo, North-West and Gauteng lost nearly R1.6 billion after illegally investing with the now-liquidated bank.

Date:26 May 2022

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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