Lizeka Tonjeni in the dock for Digital Vibes bribes. Photo: Supplied
- Lizeka Tonjeni is on trial for allegedly accepting a R160 000 bribe from Digital Vibes.
- Tonjeni’s defence is that the money was for the sale of healthcare products as well as loans.
- She conceded that, when interviewed, she did not tell the SIU about the payments.
The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) employee accused of accepting a R160 000 bribe from Digital Vibes conceded that she did not tell the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) about payments she received from the controversial communications company.
Lizeka Tonjeni appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Thursday, where she is on trial for corruption.
She was charged with one count of corruption relating to a R3.9 million tender awarded to Digital Vibes in 2018.
Tonjeni was a project manager in the office of the chief executive at the time.
During this time, she received several payments from Digital Vibes, which the State alleges was a bribe to further the company’s interests.
READ | MISA employee accused of corruption says govt dept did not ‘stress’ about side hustles
Tonjeni does not dispute receiving the money from Tahera Mather, one of the actual owners of Digital Vibes, even though the company was registered in the name of a petrol station manager in Stanger, KwaZulu-Natal, according to a SIU report.
She does, however, dispute what the money was for.
Tonjeni’s defence is that R60 000 of the money was payment for healthcare products she sold to Mather.
Two payments of R50 000 each were allegedly loans.
During the State’s cross-examination of Tonjeni, the prosecutor, advocate Willem van Zyl, probed the accused about her version.
Van Zyl asked Tonjeni whether she had told the SIU, which investigated Digital Vibes, that she received money from Mather.
She conceded that she did not tell the SIU that she had received money for selling healthcare products to Mather.
Tonjeni claimed that she did not tell the SIU about the payments because they were still investigating the matter.
On Wednesday, News24 reported that the State uncovered 10 more payments from Mather to Tonjeni.
READ | State shows 10 more Digital Vibes payments to municipal support employee who says she wasn’t bribed
Following the flow of funds, the State previously placed it on record that money paid to Digital Vibes by MISA was transferred to a number of different accounts, including an FNB account belonging to a company named Composite Trade and Investments.
The bank account for the company was opened by Mather.
Explaining the additional R34 700 paid into her bank account, Tonjeni said most of the payments related to healthcare products sold to Mather.
In total, Mather allegedly bought healthcare products from Tonjeni for R94 700.
None of the payments was disclosed to MISA, as evidence presented showed that Tonjeni made no financial disclosures during the time she was project manager on the Digital Vibes tender.
Tonjeni claimed she did not know that she had to disclose money made from her “side hustle”.
The trial continues.
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