A former Free State traffic officer has been found guilty of corruption while serving the public. Tshepiso Confidence Ramatlakane (31) attended the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates court today where she was offered an R10,000 fine or five years imprisonment
Ramatlakane was stung by the Serious Corruption Investigation team back in June 2019. It’s been reported that Ramatlakane and a colleague ” stopped and removed a minibus operating disc, registration disc and the driver’s driving license.”
The driver was also instructed to take his car to the impound by the officers – Both officers exchanged their contact details with the driver.
The owner of the minibus left confused and without transport was forced to call the officer, while on the phone Ramatlakane said: “that she needed to pay between R5000 and R11 000 to the traffic department in order for to get back the documents.”
Ramatlakane convinced the now ‘bribe’ victim to pay her R5000 in order to “accelerate the release of the seized assets”.
The victim refused this offer and countered it by saying they would pay R2000, however, Ramatlakane refused this and demanded a one-off R3000 payment be made.
The victim reported the incident to the Phuthaditjhaba Magistrates Court which then sparked an investigation by the Hawks. The undercover operation began and Ramatlakane was arrested and state money recovered.
The conviction for Ramatlakane’s crimes was to pay an R10,000 fine and also to receive a suspended five-year sentence under the conditions she does not commit corruption again in the future.
The RTMC are not satisfied with the outcome of this case and have commented saying:
“We believe that suspended sentences in cases of traffic officer corruption do not send a strong enough message. We prefer direct imprisonment in these circumstances to send a strong message that corruption within the law enforcement sector will not be tolerated. “
