Shock as metro cop appears in court instead of reporting for duty

Tshwane municipality says it is shocked that one of its cops has appeared in court in connection with KPMG money laundering charges.

Sgt Lebogang Sigubudu and co-accused Trevor Machimana were the latest suspects arrested in the case and are accused of aiding former KPMG employee Fidelis Moema to move illicit money through their companies. Moema is accused of stealing R16.5m from the company.

The trio appeared in the Palm Ridge magistrate's court on Thursday and spent the night in custody as their bail judgment was expected to be delivered on Friday.

Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) spokesperson Sen-Supt Isaac Mahamba said Sigubudu was meant to report for work on Thursday night, but they were shocked to see him appearing in court as one of the new accused in the fraud case allegedly orchestrated by Moema.

“We were not aware of this matter until he appeared in court today as he was supposed to report for duty this evening.

“We immediately appointed an investigating officer internally to open a case docket and obtain facts,” said Mahamba. 

He said though the KPMG case is a private matter, the department was worried about the allegations against Sigubudu. 

“We don't rule out the possibility of serving him with notice to explain why he should not be suspended while the matter is being investigated.”

Sigubudu started to work for the city in 2009 as a traffic warden "temporarily and was appointed permanently in 2011”, Mahamba said. 

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