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Lawyer Matric Luphondo.
Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe
- The acting director of the Mpumalanga Public Prosecutor’s Office, Matric Luphondo, received a notice of suspension.
- This is because he was arrested for allegedly bribing a prosecutor to drop a criminal case against the human settlements of Mpumalanga HOD Kebone Masange.
- Luphondo, Masange and their co-defendants, Hawks Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ayanda Plaatjie, were granted bail of R20,000 each.
The acting director of the Mpumalanga Public Ministry, Matric Luphondo, received a suspension notice after being arrested for allegedly bribing a prosecutor to drop a criminal case against the head of the provincial human settlements department (HOD).
This was revealed in Pretoria Magistrates Court on Thursday, where Luphondo and his co-defendants, HOD Kebone Masange and Hawks Officer Lieutenant Colonel Ayanda Plaatjie, requested bail.
The state objected to their bail requests, but admitted that Luphondo and Masange’s requests fell under schedule one, which meant the responsibility was to prove why they should not be released on bail.
Meanwhile, Plaatjie’s request for bail was included in schedule five, meaning that he had a responsibility to show that it would be in the interest of justice to allow him to be released on bail.
READ | Matric Luphondo bribery case: the State affirms that the main witness is being followed
In opposing the bail, the State relied on the allegation that the main witness in the case, the prosecutor allegedly bribed, had been persecuted.
According to an affidavit from the prosecutor, who is stationed at the DPP office in Pretoria and assigned to prosecute the case against Masange, colleagues from the National Prosecutor’s Office were asked to obtain information on his whereabouts.
He said his current and former colleagues were requesting information on the pretext that they wanted to introduce him to a woman who was interested in him.
However, the prosecutor added that he later realized he was being followed and felt unsafe after Luphondo allegedly arrived at a restaurant where he was having lunch in Centurion.
It is also alleged that information was being sought, including where you live, what car you drive, and your vehicle registration.
Defending
Defense attorneys for the defendant questioned the veracity of the facts, as one of the defendants was a lead Hawks detective and would have access to this information through law enforcement systems.
It was argued that the State had no evidence that the defendant interfered with any of the witnesses or the investigations, and Luphondo had already received a suspension notice.
Judgment
In his sentencing, Judge Dreyer van der Merwe noted the pending suspension and considered that it would make it almost impossible for the accused to interfere with witnesses or the investigation.
He said it would be in the interests of the courts if the defendants were released on bail, but set the amount at 20,000 rand, substantially higher than the 5,000 rand that the defendants said they could pay.
Van der Merwe attached conditions of bail which included that the defendants must not contact any of the witnesses, directly or indirectly.
Charge sheet
According to the charge sheet, Luphondo and Plaatjie allegedly colluded with Masange to remove the criminal charges against him.
Masange faces charges of fraud and violation of immigration law. The State has accused him of being in the country illegally and of using fraudulent documents when he applied for the higher position in the Department of Human Settlements.
It is alleged that on March 12, Plaatjie approached the prosecutor at the DPP’s Pretoria office, who was assigned to prosecute Masange, and asked if there was any way to “get out of the case.”
On March 18, Luphondo allegedly called the prosecutor and requested a meeting to be held at a McDonalds in Arcadia, Tshwane.
READ | Matric Luphondo Corruption Charges Linked to the Immigration Case of a Mpumalanga Government Official
There, Luphondo allegedly told the prosecutor that Masange was willing to do anything to get out of the case and that they should help him.
Less than a week later, on March 23, Luphondo is alleged to have met with the prosecutor and presented him with an 18-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich whiskey, valued at 1,550 rand and 5,000 rand in cash.
The charge sheet alleges that Luphondo later told the prosecutor that there was more to where that came from.
Four days later, Plaatjie reportedly contacted the prosecutor and asked him to meet him at the Foundations circle, where he handed the prosecutor 28,000 rand in cash.
All three defendants said they intended to plead not guilty to the charges.
The case was postponed until July 23.
