A former police officer who was attached to the Free State Saps Crime Intelligence unit will be swapping the blue uniform for orange prison garb. The accused Tshepo Matthews Sephapho (48), was sentenced by the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court to a minimum of five years direct imprisonment without the option of paying a fine.
He was sentenced yesterday – Wednesday, 18 June on compelling evidence presented in court. The court found Sephapho guilty on charges of fraud, forgery, and uttering committed against the former employer – Saps. He’s sentencing followed probing by the Bloemfontein’s Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation detectives. Sephapho held the rank of warrant officer.
Lt. Col Zweli Mohobeleli, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said probing uncovered that the accused forged the signatures of his superiors and withdrew more than R134 000 from the Secret Services account during 2022. He said an investigation was launched the same year following the discovery of wrongdoing.
Mohobeleli said at the time of committing the crime, Sephapho was attached to the Free State Saps Crime Intelligence unit at the Parkweg in Bloemfontein. He said the accused was arrested in July last year in Botshabelo, a town outside Bloemfontein, having resigned in 2023, through dishonourable discharge from service. The accused was released on bail of R5 000 with the condition.
