Court appearance for alleged fraudsters in Free State Health Department tender case

Two people and a company, Teebros PTY LTD, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court facing charges of fraud, forgery, and uttering in connection with a Free State Department of Health tender, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks) said.

Hawks Free State spokesperson, Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti, said former Supply Chain practitioner for the department, Matlakala Amelia Lesabane, 48, and Obakeng Sobbrey Teele, 38, turned themselves in to the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation Unit earlier on December 9, before their appearance.

“It is alleged that in June 2022, the Hawks received a tip-off about allegations of fraud and corruption committed by the Supply Chain practitioner at the Free State Department of Health, where a tender for supply and delivery of laundry chemicals, installation, maintenance of automatic dosing pump system to various laundries in the Free State, was advertised,” said Matoti.

“Lesabane, who was the Supply Chain practitioner at the time, demanded a gratification amount of R150,000 for three separate tenders from the complainant who bid and was awarded the tender. On refusing to pay the demanded amount, the tender was awarded to Teele's company.”

Lesabane allegedly directed the complainant to provide a confirmation letter related to dosing pumps.

An internal investigation revealed that a similar confirmation letter had been fraudulently issued to Teebros PTY LTD.

The director of LKW, the supposed issuing company, confirmed that the letter was forged and that Teebros was never a client.

The matter was reported to health department authorities and escalated to the Hawks, leading to warrants of arrest issued by the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court.

During their court appearance, Lesabane was granted bail of R2,000, while Teele was released on R3,000 bail. The case has been postponed to February 12, 2025, for transfer to the Bloemfontein Regional Court.

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