- A payroll official from the Ndwedwe municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has been arrested for fraud.
- He allegedly created ghost employees and siphoned nearly half a million rand of public funds.
- Nkosingizwile Gama has since appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court where he was released on R5 000 bail.
An Ndwedwe municipal official has been arrested after allegedly creating ghost employees and paying himself nearly half a million rand between 2015 and 2016, the Hawks said on Wednesday.
Hawks members from the Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit arrested Nkosingizwile Gama, 36, for fraud on Monday, Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said.
"It is alleged that between 2015 and 2016, Gama, who was employed by Ndwedwe local municipality as payroll administrator, allegedly created ghost employees and used fictitious names to defraud the municipality.
"As a result, Ndwedwe municipality suffered an actual prejudice of more than R488 000."
Mhlongo said that during the certification of salary payments, his supervisor noticed suspicious payments and a case of fraud was reported at Ndwedwe police station.
"The case docket was allocated to Hawks members for a thorough investigation."
Gama appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Tuesday and released on R5 000 bail.
His case was postponed to 31 March 2021.