5 Suspects in R113 Million Mpumalanga Education Department Fraud Get Bail

29-year-old Palesa Thela, arrested together with her parents, was granted bail of R50 000 because she is a mother to an infant who is breastfed, her lawyer told the court

The Nelspruit Magistrates Court in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, has this morning granted bail to five of the 36 suspects arrested by the Hawks on allegations of defrauding the provincial education department of an estimated R113 million.

More than 30 accused asked for bail, one of them, Palesa Thela (29) who was in custody together with her parents, was granted a R50 000 bail. She told the court through her attorney she is a mother to an infant who is breastfed, the SABC reported.

The 36 suspects are part of 40 suspects some of whom are family members, sought by the Hawks, according to a provincial Hawks spokesperson. He said there were also 17 entities linked to the 40 suspects making it 57 companies. “Plus there are 21 directors, which are then associated with those entities and that brings it up to the total of 69 companies”.

The spokesperson said the charges differ from person to person with fraud, money laundering, corruption and there will be a lot more charges leveled against the accused. The crimes date back from 2018 and 2019.

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