The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has welcomed the imprisonment sentence imposed on a provincial traffic officer in Limpopo in connection with bribery of an undercover agent.

The Mokopane Magistrate court on Monday, 2 October 2023, found the traffic officer guilty on charges relating to accepting a bribe of R200 from an undercover anti-corruption agent from RTMC.

The court sentenced Vincent Madiga (53) to three year’s direct imprisonment without the option of a fine.

“The arrest took place during a joint operation, named Operation Siyabangena, by the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit of the RTMC and the Hawks in 2018. The RTMC believes that the conviction of this officer will send a message to others that are still hell bent on committing such crimes, that crime does not pay.

“The officer now no longer qualifies to work as a traffic officer because of his criminal record and this means that we have succeeded in removing a bad element from the ranks of our traffic officers,” the RTMC said on Tuesday.

A total of 13 traffic officers were arrested as part of Operation “Siyabangena” and their cases are continuing in different courts in the province. Some have already been imprisoned for their offence.

Source: South African Government News Agency