Ayanda Matinise, 37, took advantage of his proximity to the
office of then Eastern Cape health MEC Sindiswa Gomba and disaster regulations
which permitted deviation from ordinary procurement procedures, said regional
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
Matinise wrote, signed and sent a forged letter to Falaz
Protection Services in September 2020 under the pretence that the provincial
health department was committed to procuring PPE, including surgical masks. The
company submitted a declaration of interest and a quotation of R23.7m to
Matinise.
The PPE was then delivered to the department's OR Tambo
district stores in Mthatha.
Once the company realised officials responsible for payment
had no knowledge of the forged letter, they opted to collect the consignment,
“but large quantities of it were missing, including 130,000 KN 95 masks and
70,000 surgical masks, to the value of R2.6m. Investigations conducted by the
Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks led to the arrest of Matinise,”
said Tyali.
“He pleaded not guilty, downplaying his role to that of a
mere messenger, and attempted to implicate the officials who blew the whistle
as having been involved in large-scale corruption. However, under cross-examination,
Matinise contradicted himself and changed his version at least three times. The
court rejected his defence.”
Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions Barry Madolo
commended the prosecuting team, SIU investigators and Hawks for securing the conviction
and sentence of a person who used the pandemic to illegally enrich himself.
TimesLIVE
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