Former court interpreter, Timothy Sibuyi (48), was re-arrested on Monday, 7 October for being in contempt of court.
He faces corruption charges after he allegedly approached the brother of a suspect who was arrested for rape. According to the Hawks, he invited the suspect to his office in the Mhala Magistrate’s Court on the 17th of November, 2022. He offered to arrange legal representation in exchange for an amount of R2500,00.
“When the complainant offered him R1000, he refused, stating that the money was too little and he demanded R2500.00. The money was raised by the family, and R2500 was deposited into his Capitec bank account. The complainant reported the matter to the police and the case was transferred to Nelspruit based Serious Corruption Investigation for further investigation,”reads a statement from the Hawks.
It is reported that after the accused heard a case was opened against him, he approached the mother of the complainant and paid R2000 back and promised to settle the outstanding amount later.
READ | Eskom employees appear in court for corruption
After thorough investigation by the Hawks, a warrant for his arrest was authorised and executed on 18 September 2023. The accused was released on R5000 bail, and the case was postponed to 16 October 2023.
During internal disciplinary hearing, Sibuyi was dismissed from the service. The case was transferred to Nelspruit Regional Court. He appeared in court on several occasions until on 7 September 2024, whereby he sent a sick note. The case was postponed to 23 September 2024, but Sibuyi did not attend court. A warrant of arrest was authorised and executed on Monday where he forfeited his bail to the state.
The case was postponed to 15 October, 2024 and he remains in custody.
