A 50-year-old prosecutor, Kholosa Qupha, has been issued summons amid allegations of her involvement in a complex fraud scheme that reportedly siphoned public funds through fraudulent maintenance claims.
The saga began in October 2012 when the Department of Justice lodged a complaint after suspicions arose regarding fraudulent activities carried out by administrative clerks at the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, said that the clerks allegedly created ghost files for non-existent individuals, manipulating the system to make unauthorised maintenance payments totalling an astounding R700,000 for personal gain.
Following a lengthy investigation, Qupha, who worked in the maintenance section of the court, was arrested in Plettenberg Bay, in the Western Cape by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in 2021.
On the same day of her arrest, she appeared before the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crime Court and was released on warning.
Mhlakuvana stated that Qupha did not plead guilty during the initial proceedings, leading the court to separate the trials, which ultimately resulted in her case being struck off the roll.
However, as investigations continued, further evidence compelled authorities to serve Qupha with summons to appear again before the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on March 31, 2025.
While Qupha awaits her day in court, two of her co-accused—Patricia Nobantu Xaki, 58, and Victoria Noyolo, 54—have already faced the consequences of their actions, having been sentenced and fined in 2021 for their roles in the fraudulent scheme.
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