SIU probe into Knysna security tender ends in court for former mayor and two officials
The three are appearing in the Knysna Magistrate's Court over an investigation into a R68 million security contract and alleged kickbacks, according to eNCA.
A former mayor, the acting municipal manager and the acting chief financial officer are due to appear in the Knysna Magistrate’s Court on Monday, in a matter arising from a Special Investigating Unit probe into a R68 million security services tender, eNCA (YouTube) reported.
The broadcaster, reporting from outside the court, said proceedings had been set to begin after 11am and that court F had been allocated to the matter. eNCA said it had applied for permission to take its cameras into court to film and broadcast the proceedings, and that the application still had to be heard.
The investigation followed information that a businessman awarded a security service tender by the municipality was being forced and pressured into paying kickbacks to keep the contract, according to eNCA. The broadcaster reported that the SIU and the police’s priority crimes unit, which it referred to as the PKTT, also investigating the murder of former mayor Aubry Tangua, followed up on the fraud allegations tied to the tender. Tangua was killed on 19 August.
The arrests followed that work, eNCA reported.
The broadcaster referred to one of the accused as the former mayor because he was removed from the position by the African National Congress about a week before he was arrested.
The three accused have not been named in this report beyond their former and acting municipal roles. No plea or outcome is recorded here, and the court proceedings had not yet started when eNCA filed.
Source: eNCA (YouTube), SIU probes R68 million security tender in Knysna
