How a magistrate and doctor were nabbed in fraudulent driving licence scam

Johannesburg – A blitz conducted by the Road Management Traffic Corporation (RTMC) helped nab a KwaZulu-Natal magistrate for allegedly obtaining a driving licence fraudulently.

Bonginkosi Mtshali, 56, travelled all the way from KwaZulu-Natal in 2018 to apply for a licence at Elukwatini Licensing Centre in Mpumalanga.

However, three years later him, his doctor and four other officials working at the licensing centre were arrested for license fraud.

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said they initiated a blitz a few years ago where they managed to find people who obtained driving licences fraudulently.

He said a whistleblower mentioned Mtshali, who lives in KwaZulu Natal but got his license in Mpumalanga.

Zwane said evidence later showed that Mtshali did not follow the correct procedure to get his license.

He said when one is applying for a licence, they have the option of doing an eye test at the licensing centre or privately.

However, if they do it privately, it has to be done by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Zwane said they later found that Mtshali had chosen to do his test privately using the services of Dr Makhomba Nkambule.

“However, Dr Nkambule is neither an optometrist nor an ophthalmologist.

“He is a family member but documents show that he gave Mtshali the eye test.“

“Other evidence shows that Mtshali did not go through the process as he was supposed to but we can’t give out the details now,” he said.

Zwane also said the system showed that it was the first time Mtshali applied for a license as there was no proof that he had one prior to applying in 2018.

While it was not known why Mtshali decided to travel hundreds of kilometres to Mpumalanga for the licence, they noticed something when they were there for a blitz a few years ago.

“We saw many taxis and bakkies bearing KwaZulu-Natal number plates.

“Maybe it could be because it’s a peri-urban area and people think they may get away with getting licenses fraudulently, there” Zwane said.

Mtshali, Dr Nkambule, ST Thwala, 44, BJ Mamba, 56, SM Mathebula, 43 and ZM Ndhlandhla, 35 appeared at the Eerstehoek Regional Court and granted R2 000 bail each.

They face charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

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