WESTERN CAPE- Danville Smith (39), a former Councillor at the Cederberg Municipality handed himself to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Thursday, 25 August 2022, after failing to appear in court on the 16 August 2022 on charges of fraud and corruption.

This comes after a lengthy Hawks investigation into irregularities at the Cederberg Municipality, where Smith served as Councillor until 2016. Smith and his co-accused Mr Blankenberg who was the district committee member for Ward 5 in Lambert's Bay and Clanwilliam Municipality, are facing charges relating to alleged corruption that occurred during the planning of Mandela Day celebrations in Lambert's Bay on 18 July 2016.

They are accused of pocketing R28 200-00 after submitting an invoice totalling R28 200-00 from a company and getting one of its owners to pocket R3 200-00 whereas the company did not render any services to the municipality.

Smith appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes court in Bellville on the same day of his arrest and was released on warning, He is expected to appear along with his co-accused in the same court on Monday, 05 September 2022 for legal representation.

Source: South African Police Service