Former Tshwane mayor Murunwa Makwarela has been granted R10 000 bail after he handed himself over to the Brooklyn police in Tshwane earlier today. The disgraced mayor was charged with fraud after submitting fraudulent insolvency rehabilitation certificate to the city in a bid to stay on as the mayor. Makwarela resigned from his position only ten days after he was elected mayor of the capital city.  

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TO FACE THE LAW 

The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana confirmed that Makwarela made his first appearance at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Monday. "Makwarela  was granted R10 000 bail and is due to reappear in the same court on 02 May 2023 for disclosure and instructions," Mahanjana said.
The case has been  referred to the Gauteng Serious Corruption Investigation for further exploration.

EXPOSED 

In March, the City of Tshwane approached the Hawks to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the affairs of Makwarela after he claimed to have been rehabilitated. The certificate was later found to have been fake. "In light of the unrehabilitated status of Dr Makwarela, the City of Tshwane might have been defrauded in allowing him to serve as a Cope councillor, conduct the functions of the speaker of the council, and to be elected as and serve as the executive mayor of the City of Tshwane," Spokesperson Selby Bokaba said at the time.  Makwarela was declared insolvent in August 2016. Although the law prohibits insolvent people from holding public office, he was elected as a councillor after the 2021 municipal elections and as the mayor on 28 February 2023.