Five MPs were convicted of fraud and sentenced in the Cape Town Regional Court on Friday morning.
The MPs pleaded guilty to fraud and were the first of 23 MPs implicated in Travelgate, the multimillion-rand travel-voucher scandal, to be criminally convicted.
The five — African National Congress members Rhoda Joemat, Pamela Mnandi, Mavis Magazi, Tseko Taabe and Mildred Mpaka — were sentenced as part of a plea agreement with the Scorpions to fines ranging from R40 000 or one year’s direct imprisonment to R80 000 or three years’ imprisonment.
The MPs individually entered the dock to confirm to magistrate Johnny Vermeulen that the agreement had been reached voluntarily and that they had not been forced or unduly influenced to sign.
According to lead prosecutor, Jannie van Vuuren, the agreements were all ”generically basically the same” and only differed in personal information and amounts involved.
He said the state took into account as one of the main considerations the fact the accused came forward and pleaded guilty.
The accused were convicted after exchanging air-travel vouchers, given to them by Parliament, for cash.
Sentences
In court, Joemat pleaded guilty to defrauding the institution of R72 000. She was sentenced to a fine of R80 000, half of which had to be paid by 4pm on Friday and the remainder deferred to April 4, or three years’ imprisonment.
Joemat was handed a further suspended sentence of five years, suspended for five years on condition she is not found guilty of fraud or theft.
Mnandi pleaded guilty to fraud involving R34 000 and was sentenced to a fine of R40 000 or one year in jail.
She was given until May 3 to pay. She was given a further sentence of three years suspended for five years on condition she is not convicted of similar offences.
Magazi was convicted of fraud totalling R63 000 and sentenced to a fine of R60 000 or two years’ imprisonment. She was handed a further sentence of four years suspended for five years, and her payment was also deferred to May 3.
Taabe was found guilty of fraud involving R36 000 and sentenced to a fine of R40 000 or one year’s imprisonment.
He was handed a further sentence of three years suspended for five years, and indicated he would be able to pay the cash fine by Friday.
Mpaka was found guilty of fraud involving R75 000 and was sentenced to pay a fine of R80 000 or three years’ imprisonment.
She was handed a further five years, suspended for five years, and indicated she would be able to pay the cash fine by 4pm on Friday.
‘Fair and just’
Vermeulen described the sentences meted out as ”fair and just”.
On more than one occasion, he mentioned in passing the impressive CVs of the accused, and noted that it was ”sad” to see them before him accused of fraud involving public funds.
Advocate Seth Nthai, who represented all five accused, said he wants to correct a public perception that plea-bargain agreements are only for the wealthy.
”Any citizen, whether an MP, minister, even the president for that matter, can make use of these provisions” contained in Section 105(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Nthai said none of the accused had prior convictions and ascribed the fraud to an ”error of judgement”.
Earlier, the five MPs appeared briefly in the Cape Town District Court for the matter to be transferred to the regional court division of the magistrate’s court.
Asked why only five and not eight accused, as some media reported, were appearing on Friday, Van Vuuren said the other three will probably appear next week.
The absence of the three was attributed to problems with ”logistics”.
Van Vuuren did not want to release the names of the three in case the MPs do not sign the agreement.
He said the agreement and sentences did not mean that ”restitution” to Parliament by the MPs in connection with their individual fraud was negated. — Sapa