Marumo Rapetswa (52), Nnyadzeweni Maguga (55) and former deputy director in the Tshwane Department of Human Settlements, Cecil John (59) appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palm Ridge yesterday, 11 December 2023 following their arrest.
It is alleged that during the 2013 hailstorm, many houses were damaged in the Mamelodi, Soshanguve and Tshwane areas which prompted the Department of Human Settlements to appoint service providers to deal with fixing the damages. The Department spent approximately R500 million in the project however the service providers were not contracted following proper procurement processes and some of the work was not completed.
Investigation by the Johannesburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation revealed that the trio received gratification from certain service providers involved in the project and prejudiced the department of R500 million actual loss.
The trio briefly appeared in court where they were granted R10 000 bail each and are to appear again on 12 March 2024 on charges of corruption and money laundering.