The fraud and theft accused Ditaba Mokhutle, who has been vocal about the alleged failures of the IPC, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday 18 October 2022.

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He was arrested on Monday 17 October 2022 on allegations of fraud and theft linked back to December 2019. According to the Hawks spokesperson, Christopher Singo, Mokhutle and Boitumelo Poonyane, who was arrested last year in August 2021, intended to divert more than R13 million from the Department of Public Works in Bloemfontein to a company known as Waltons Trading Enterprise CC, although the company did not render any services to the department.

“The matter was then reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, for further investigation. The case has been postponed to Tuesday 4 November 2022 and he was released on R3000 bail,” Singo adds.

However, another ANC member in Mangaung, Fannie Lelimo, says they are of the view that Mokhutle’s arrest is orchestrated as a result of him being the face of and being vocal in a court application against the IPC. He was cleared by the department, based on the evidence tabled. However, we are surprised that after so long he is now being arrested, even though the evidence indicated otherwise,” Lelimo alleges.

In a court document furnished to court this month (October 2022) against the IPC, the branches said “the ANC has unlawfully, unconstitutionally and/or improperly abdicated, neglected, abandoned and/or disregarded their leadership and/or oversight responsibilities, in respect of the political rights of the members (of ANC branches) in the Free State province, including the applicants, pertaining to the process leading towards participation in the ANC regional, provincial and national elective conference”.

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