Mbombela – Convicted former Eskom Administration Clerk 40-year-old Nwabisa Ngxola, was this week sentenced to 10 years in prison for Fraud, Corruption, and Money Laundering in the Mbombela Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
Ngxola was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years imprisonment for 16 counts of fraud.
A further seven years imprisonment for 39 counts of corruption and another additional seven years imprisonment for 48 counts of money laundering were imposed on the accused.
However, the court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, therefore Ngxola will serve 10 years of direct imprisonment without the option of a fine.
The conviction and sentence followed a lengthy investigation conducted by elite crime busters – the Hawks – based in Mbombela (Nelspruit).
It is alleged that in November 2013 the accused, who was working as an administration Clerk at Eskom together with her co-accused Cinderella Moropane, colluded with Michael Chimanzi, the sole Director of Chimanzi Investments, and submitted fraudulent invoices to power utility for services that were never rendered.
The fraudulent transactions amounted to R2.6 million, which was channeled to Chimanzi Investment business accounts.
Fifty-six-year-old Micheal Chimanzi was found guilty and sentenced when he appeared in the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court earlier this year on 1 March 2023 for fraud, theft, and money laundering.
During the sentencing, the court took into consideration that Chimanzi already served four years imprisonment since his arrest in 2018.
Furthermore, the accused showed remorse and pleaded guilty from the beginning without wasting state resources.
Chimanzi was sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on the condition that he is not found guilty and convicted for similar offenses during the period of suspension.
The case against the third accused Cinderella Moropane was postponed to 17 May 2023 as she was hospitalised.
