Johannesburg - In a bid to drive home that crime and corruption within the legal system will not be tolerated, the Giyani Specialised Commercial Crimes (SCC) Court has sentenced a former court interpreter to six years imprisonment.
Baldwin Nevondwe, 42, a Tshitale Magistrate’s Court interpreter, was convicted and sentenced to six years of direct imprisonment for two counts of corruption by the Giyani SCC Court.
The sentence comes after Nevondwe met with a complainant who was attending a court matter and called him to the office of the public prosecutor where he told him that he was facing a serious offence that could put him in jail.
He then solicited a R500 bribe from the complainant to make the case disappear.
The complainant, however, only gave Nevondwe R300, with the assurance of paying the balance of the bribe the next day.
After the ordeal, the complainant reported the matter to the SAPS which then approached the Hawks to set a trap.
In another incident, a complainant was in court to pay an admission of guilt fine when the court official approached the now deceased person andasked that he come to his office.
Upon arrival at the office, the complainant was asked for R600 for a soft drink and the official accompanied him to the cash hall for payment; however, the amount that was fixed as an admission of guilt fine was not written on the docket.
The office clerk referred them back to the prosecutor to endorse the amount on the docket and he then paid R200 as an admission of guilt fine after the prosecutor made the endorsement.
State Advocate Mpho Mothupi submitted that the accused, as a public officer, abused his power of authority and the trust the public had in him.
"He demanded gratification from people who were not employed at the time, whereas he had his salary. The NPA condemns the behaviour of the court interpreter and is disappointed that someone in his position would commit such crimes."
The Star