Simphiwe Dube, 22, Fekeza Mathe, 36, and Mathews Pitse, 48, were arrested on Monday (17/11) and Tuesday by the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation unit following a detailed probe into the illicit transaction. The alleged fraud dates back to October 2019, when an unidentified member of the public, who is still at large, submitted a fraudulent UIF application.

Investigators revealed a claim exceeding R53,000 was processed and successfully paid out to the bogus claimant, said Hawks spokesperson Lt Tinyiko Mathebula.

Crucially, the investigation established the claimant had never been employed by the company cited in the application.

The trio was arrested by members of the Hawks' serious corruption investigation unit on Monday and Tuesday. Photo: Freepik

The trail led back to two registration supervisors in the Klerksdorp department of labour offices. Pitse is accused of using the Mmabatho centre number to process the payment, bypassing his own centre’s protocols, while Mathe allegedly received a portion of the fraudulent funds.

After the funds were released, the primary claimant allegedly distributed a significant portion of the cash to the now-apprehended accomplices. Dube reportedly received R24,500, while Mathe received R21,500.

All three suspects were formally charged with fraud following their arrest.

The trio was granted R2,000 bail each during their appearance on Wednesday. Their case has been postponed to 7 January as the authorities continue their investigation, which includes tracing the primary claimant involved in the initial application.

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