Thanduxolo Khalipa, the mayor of Matjhabeng local municipality in the Free State, has been fined R7,000 or face jail time by the Ondendaalsrus magistrate's court on Thursday.
This comes after Khalipa was found guilty of assault and crimen injuria.
Khalipha attacked and insulted his driver and bodyguard when they tried to protect him from rowdy residents during a community meeting.
As a result, he was charged with assault and fined R5,000 or face three months in prison.
For the two counts of crimen injuria, he was fined R1000 each or spend one month in prison for each charge.
He was further declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.
On the day of the incident, Khalipa was attending a community engagement and tensions escalated during the meeting as community members became rowdy, prompting his protectors to intervene and attempt to escort him from the scene.
'In response, Khalipa reportedly began to physically assault his protectors and made derogatory remarks," said police.
In February, IOL reported that a former KwaZulu-Natal mayor was sentenced to an effective five years behind bars for fraud.
Nomagugu Luzulane was sentenced in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
She committed the fraud while mayor of the Ingwe Local Municipality, now known as Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, back in 2012.
Explaining the case, the provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks), Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said Luzulane initiated a community project to assist the poor in the community.
“She purchased food parcels under the pretence of assisting the community but redirected that food to the funeral of her associate. Luzumane further hired a tent and sound system that was used during that funeral,” Mhlongo said.
“Furthermore, she hired a catering company and paid R50,000 which was allegedly paid back to her in cash. As a result, the municipality suffered a financial loss of R71,500.”
Mhlongo said a case of fraud and corruption was reported to the Hawks members from Durban Serious Corruption Investigation for intensive probing
“Luzumane was arrested in 2017 and was released on bail. She appeared in court several times until she was found guilty in July 2023.”
Luzumane was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, of which two years is suspended for five years on condition that she is not convicted of fraud or theft during the period of suspension.
“She was further sentenced to three years imprisonment for three counts of contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act. Her sentences will run concurrently,” explained Mhlongo.
IOL News