The Office of the Premier in Limpopo, Stan Mathabatha, has remained mum on the arrest of its HR executive by the Hawks on Thursday.
It only said it has noted the recent developments surrounding the arrest by the Hawks and court appearance of Mr MM Maseko. He is director for labour relations in the Office of the Premier. Maseko was arrested on Thursday, April 18 2024.
Matter currently in court
“The matter involving Maseko is currently in court and the Office of the Premier will await the outcome or judgement from the court,” it said in a statement.
“It is important to note that the office will not be making any comments on the case. This until the legal process have been completed. The office remains committed to upholding integrity and transparency in all its operations.”
According to the Hawks, on Thursday, April 18, 2024, the Polokwane-based Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation arrested a senior manager from the Human Resource Management in the office of the Premier in Limpopo Province for alleged fraud.
Misrepresented his qualifications
“It is alleged that during October 2012, the accused, Mr Mbobole Michael Maseko (59) misrepresented his qualifications. This when applying for an advertised position of Senior Manager: Human Resource Management in the office of the premier.
“As a result of his misrepresentation, he was shortlisted. He was eventually appointed to the said position. His appointment prejudiced the office of the premier. His appointment caused the office to suffer a loss of more than R11-million,” said the provincial Hawks spokesperson Lethunya Mmuroa.
NPA authorised arrest warrant
The matter was reported to the Hawks for further investigations and was thoroughly investigated. Subsequently, a warrant of arrest was authorised by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The accused appeared before the Polokwane magistrate’s court on April 18, 2024.
Head of the Hawks in Limpopo province, Major-General Gopz Govender, hailed the investigators for their excellent job.
“This is a wonderful job. The arrest will serve as a deterrent to others who want to commit the same offence [and defraud the state],” said Govender.
