Johannesburg – The South African Post Office (Sapo) said it is pleased that justice has prevailed against a former employee who was found guilty of conducting fraud while working for the institution.
The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Themba Nyamela, 33, to 12 years’ imprisonment for theft of more than R1.1 million from the Post Office, where he was employed as an acting branch manager, in Cedarville, near Matatiele.
The court suspended two years from the sentence for five years on the condition he does not commit a similar offence during the period of suspension, effectively reducing it to 10 years.
Nyamela pleaded guilty to a charge of theft after he was arrested following his dismissal from the entity. This emanated from a disciplinary hearing in which he also pleaded guilty to having stolen the money over a period of three years, from 2019 to 2021.
In his plea explanation, he stated that he had financial difficulties and could not pay back loans when he started to take out the daily financial collections, which had to be banked, for his personal use.
He also blamed his gambling addiction for his actions, as he had been hoping "to score a jackpot, cease to take the money from the employer, and pay it back".
The former mail delivery man, who rose through the ranks to teller and acting branch manager, was stopped in his tracks when his superiors started sending emails instructing that he deposit the outstanding amounts.
He ignored these communications until he admitted to his area manager that there was no money to deposit and he was not in a position to pay it back.
Eastern Cape NPA spokesperson said even though the State’s advocate, Neziswa September, argued for the imposition of the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years for theft of amounts over R500 000, the court found that there were compelling circumstances for deviation.
This included the fact that Nyamela pleaded guilty and his pensions were to be forfeited to the Sapo.
Accepting the sentence, Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the prosecutor and the investigating officer for their roles in ensuring that justice was served.
Anoosh Rooplal, joint business rescue practitioner of Sapo, said they had taken a zero-tolerance approach to any type of illegal activity undertaken at the institution.
"This aligns with one of our many objectives of protecting customers' funds entrusted to and passing through the Post Office. Thorough identification and investigation of any identified illegal activities will result in the necessary measures being taken against the person or persons," said Rooplal.
The Star