Hawks spokesperson, Tlangelani Rikhotso, confirms the second suspect – a man – is expected to do so today, despite having expected him to do so on Friday already. His co-accused, Nelson, was arrested and briefly appeared in the Mmabatho Regional Court on Friday for what Rikhotso describes as dodgy dealings in the North West Health Department.

Nelson, a known close ally of the controversial former North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo, has been linked to the irregular appointment of a senior official in the troubled provincial Health Department in 2014.

According to Poloko Tau at City Press [https://city-press.news24.com/News/wendy-nelson-arrest-chickens-coming-home-to-roost-in-north-west-20190824] speculation is rife that the unidentified suspect is the embattled Head of the North West health department, Thabo Lekalakala, who came to prominence in 2018 for the controversial deal the department had with the Gupta-linked Mediosa healthcare company.

In his State of the Province Address delivered in June 2019, current Premier Job Mokgoro stressed the government was clamping down on corruption working alongside the Hawks. He revealed the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation had investigated 46 cases pertaining to corruption in the North West government, and of those, ten were on the court roll awaiting trial. Mokgoro says all the cases, involves monies over R2 billion. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) on the other end is said to be working on 44 cases. There is no indication as to how far the SIU is with those investigations.

OFM News