The extortion case against a municipal employee suspended by Makana municipality has been postponed in the Grahamstown regional court.
The employee, who works in the town planning department, allegedly tried to extort money from a citizen who had applied to purchase land in Makana. The case was opened with the Grahamstown police on 9 November.
The extortion case against a municipal employee suspended by Makana municipality has been postponed in the Grahamstown regional court.
The employee, who works in the town planning department, allegedly tried to extort money from a citizen who had applied to purchase land in Makana. The case was opened with the Grahamstown police on 9 November.
Grocott's Mail learned from a reliable source that the person who opened the case had applied to purchase land in 2007 – but had heard nothing until he made a follow-up visit to the municipality.
The man had gone to the municipality on 15 October to enquire about his application, the source said. There he met an employee in the town-planning department. According to the source, the employee asked the would-be landowner for a loan of R20 000.This, the employee allegedly said, would ensure that his application was successful.
Captain Mali Govender said the case had been handed over to the East London Organised Crime Unit (the Hawks) to investigate further.
National Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko confirmed that the organisation had taken over the investigation, explaining that cases of this nature fall under their jurisdiction.
The employee appeared before magistrate Thembela Mata in the Grahamstown regional court last Friday. The case was postponed to 23 September at the request of her lawyer.
State prosecutor Robert Ludick said the docket was still with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) adding that there were probably three or four witness statements outstanding.
