Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Matric Luphondo and his co-accused have been released on bail in their corruption case.
Luphondo, Hawks official Ayanda Plaatjie and the head of the Mpumalanga human settlements department, Kebone Masange, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
The three accused face corruption charges after they allegedly conspired to have criminal charges against Masange withdrawn by bribing the prosecutor in the case.
Masange, a Zimbabwean-born national, was arrested in September 2020 on charges of fraud, the possession of fraudulent documents and the contravention of the Immigration Act. It's alleged that he entered South Africa illegally and used fraudulent documents in his application for the head of department post.
The State opposed the accused's release on bail.
But on Thursday, Magistrate Dreyer van der Merwe found that it would be in the interests of justice to release the three men on bail.
He found that the accused were unlikely to interfere with the investigation or witnesses.
Van Der Merwe granted bail of R20 000 to each accused and ordered that they refrain from contacting witnesses directly or indirectly.