The Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced former Ingwe municipality mayor Nomagugu Luzulane to five years in jail for fraud, last week.
Luzulane had been found guilty of stealing money from a food scheme to fund her councillor brother’s funeral and catering for it. She will serve an effective five years imprisonment following her conviction on fraud amounting to R71 500, and three counts of contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
During Luzulane’s tenure as mayor, the Ingwe municipality implemented a project called “Operation Mbo” which aimed to identify vulnerable members of the community and supply them with food parcels, said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.
She added that Luzulane’s position precluded her involvement in supply chain management issues.
However, in April 2012, she used her influence to secure R71 500 from Operation Mbo and used this money to pay for the funeral of her brother, a ward councillor. The money was also used to pay for the catering, sound system and tent hire required for the funeral, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“She was arrested after the municipal manager at Ingwe municipality, reported the matter to the DPCI.
“In court, the State led the testimonies of several municipal employees who gave accounts of how Luzulane, 49, blatantly used the funds to pay for the fraudulent expenses,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
“Luzulane was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for fraud (two years of which were wholly suspended for a period of five years). The charges relating to the contravention of the MFMA were taken as one for the purpose of sentencing, and she was sentenced to three years imprisonment. The court ruled that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in the effective sentence of five years imprisonment. The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA secured a Section 18 confiscation order, whereby Luzulane was ordered to pay R71 500 back to the municipality. She paid this in full prior to sentence proceedings.”
