A police officer from Giyani has been slapped with a jail term for selling jobs to prospective candidates for R10k.
Police Officer Jailed For Selling Jobs For R10k To Job Seekers
The Giyani Specialised Commercial Crimes Court slapped Tshisamphiri Ragwala with a six-year jail term after he collected R10,000 in bribes from candidates wanting to join the South African Police Service (SAPS). However, the judge wholly suspended five years from the sentence on the condition that he would not be convicted for similar offences during the suspension period. The police had charged the cop with corruption back in 2019.
Ragwala was an Administration Clerk under Human Resource Management at the SAPS-Mopani District office in Giyani, Limpopo. In 2019, one police recruit approached the SAPS-Mopani District office looking for a job. Ragwala then demanded that the prospective candidate part with R10,000 if he wanted a job. The recruit alerted the police of the corrupt official, and they trapped him. The candidate went to Ragwala to pay the R10k, leading to the crooked cop’s arrest.
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Reactions To the Sentencing
Major General Gopz Govender, the Provincial Head of the Hawks in the Limpopo Province, welcomed the sentencing and reiterated that it would be a caution to other SAPS officers working at recruitment offices.
Check out some of the reactions from South Africans online.
Meta:
“A slap on the wrist.”
Matana:
“Crime as a SAPS officer or official should carry a harsher sentence as it is tantamount to treason.”
Mashabelane:
“Someone who did this kind of crime? A suspended sentence? Obviously, he unleashed criminals into @SAPoliceService, and you can imagine what are they doing in the communities countrywide. But he’s getting a suspended sentence?”
Monwabisi:
“How many police officers we have that are currently employed through this Tshisamphiri Ragwala Agency? Will they continue ‘working’?”
Spider:
“This suspended sentence is really pathetic and creates the impression that crime pays!”