Pretoria – An IT specialist, who confessed to defrauding the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund of some R1.2 million, is to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday.
Kenneth Martin Mahuluhulu, an IT expert from Thohoyandou, pleaded guilty on 22 November 2013 to defrauding the Compensation Fund. He is facing three counts of fraud.
He is out on a bail of R5 000 while the court awaits pre-sentencing reports from the probation officer.
Mahuluhulu was arrested last August at his place of work at Unisa in Pretoria. He was charged in the matter with co-accused Khathutshelo Nethengwe, a former employee of the Department of Labour’s Compensation Fund, who later handed himself to justice.
The duo has been on the run for two years. The accused are alleged to have committed their fraudulent activities between 2006 and 2009. Mahuluhulu and Nethengwe are said to have collaborated in defrauding the department by submitting and processing fake claims.
The matter of Mahuluhulu’s co-accused has since been transferred to the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, in a separation of trial.
The Compensation Fund is a public entity of the Department of Labour. The fund provides cushion to workers injured or for diseases sustained at work. – SAnews.gov.za
