Traffic officials and driving-school owners arrested for drivers’-licence corruption
Fourteen suspects between the ages of 34 and 59 were arrested earlier today in Sabie, Graskop, Lydenburg and Verena for fraud, corruption and contravening the National Road Traffic Act.
Nelspruit Hawks spokesperson Captain Sekgotodi Dineo says the arrests followed after an investigation by the Hawks in Mpumalanga and the National Road Traffic Management Corporation into driver’s licence testing examiners who colluded with driving school owners to issue learners’ and drivers’ licences without following due processes.
In 2021, an investigation was launched following allegations that a driving school owner in Sabie colluded with departmental officials to issue learners’ and drivers’ licenses to applicants without being tested, after paying exorbitant amounts of cash.
During the process of obtaining learners’ licences, applicants were assisted or given answers by the examiners who were working with driving school owners to facilitate the exercise.
Some of the suspects have already appeared in court while others are expected to appear in court tomorrow.
More arrests are expected to follow.
