FREE STATE – On 08 October 2024, the Special Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Welkom sentenced a Zimbabwean national, Tafanzwa Muyambo (41) after pleading guilty to assisting another to benefit from proceeds of unlawful activities.
Muyambo’s sentencing originates from a case that was opened against him and his accomplice, Inoque Muchanga on 26 November 2021, after they were caught by Kroonstad police who were conducting their normal routine stop and search on the R726 road outside Kroonstad. They stopped a white Volkswagen Polo driving towards Vredefort with two occupants. Upon searching the vehicle, two bundles of cash to the amount of R1 399 900.00 were found on the back seat. One in a box covered with plastic and the other inside a plastic bag. When asked about how they got the money, they could not account for it. They then offered to pay the police a gratification of R500 000. Muyambo and Muchanga were arrested and charged for corruption, money laundering, and contravention of the Immigration Act. The two accused further revealed that the money was a pay-out from illicit cigarettes.
The case was referred to the Welkom based Serious Organised Crime Investigation for further investigation resulting in a forfeiture order being secured by Asset Forfeiture Unit of the NPA and Priority Crime Specialised Investigation on 8 February 2022. An amount of R1 399 900.00 has already been paid into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA).
The court sentenced Muyambo to eight years imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of contravention of the Prevention of Organized Crime Act during the period of suspension.
The case against Inoque Muchanga was withdrawn.
PepperBurst
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?
Cool Whip
Fun South African Fact: South Africa in size is three times the size of Texas and five times the size of Japan.