GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — A police constable who was working in Graaff-Reinet in 2014 was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crime’s Court on November 2 for accepting a R100 bribe from a motorist.
Constable Mtetho Makwena was found guilty on one count of corruption by magistrate Louis Claassen.
The policeman’s court appearance stems from May 26, 2014 when he and a colleague, Constable Eunice Roman, were working near the N9 between Graaff-Reinet and Cradock.
The two constables pulled over a Toyota Fortuner, which was being driven by Tiaan Erasmus. The youngster, who was accompanied by his father Pieter Erasmus, did not have a driving licence.
Cst Roman testified that Tiaan Erasmus was driving without a licence and that Cst Makwena told him and his father to follow him to a police vehicle where Cst Roman expected Cst Makwena to issue them fines.
“The police vehicle was parked about 5m from where I was,” Cst Roman said.
She further told the court that she noticed that Erasmus handed something to Cst Makwena. She walked to the police vehicle as the driver and his passenger left and asked Cst Makwena what was handed to him.
“He denied that anything had been handed over to him,” Cst Roman told the court.
When Cst Roman checked the police register, there was no record of any fines being issued.
Cst Roman confronted Cst Makwena, who claimed he had issued a verbal warning to the father and son, and that he was given R100.
Cluster Commander Brigadier Andries Trollip confirmed to the Advertiser that Cst Makwena, who was from Jansenville, had been working in Graaff-Reinet for a time, but then returned to the Jansenville station, where he was based at the time of the trial.
“We appreciate the action of the court, and will not tolerate any criminality among our members” he affirmed.
He went on to commend Cst Roman for her courage in reporting the incident, praising her for showing the integrity that should be an essential quality for all members of SAPS.
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