East London: The East London Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit, in collaboration with the Road Accident Fund (RAF), has helped to secure the conviction of Solomon Ndika-Ndika (59) for fraud. Ndika-Ndika was sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment by the East London Regional Court on 14 February 2025.

According to South African Government News Agency, Ndika-Ndika was initially arrested on 7 November 2023 and released on warning the following day. His case stemmed from a claim filed with the RAF on 29 January 2016, where he alleged involvement in a motor vehicle accident on 7 October 2014, while traveling from Elliot towards Cala. Ndika-Ndika claimed that an oncoming vehicle forced him to overturn his car, resulting in injuries.

During the claim processing, discrepancies were identified between the documents submitted by Ndika-Ndika and the police report, prompting the RAF to repudiate the claim and refer the matter to the Hawks for further investigation.

A comprehensive investigation by the Hawks revealed that the misrepresentation by Ndika-Ndika nearly caused RAF a loss exceeding R1.6 million. Ndika-Ndika appeared in court multiple times until his sentencing by the East London Regional Court on 14 February 2025. He received a sentence of five years direct imprisonment with no option of a fine and was declared unfit to possess a firearm.