Cops cleared of corruption

TWO police officers acquitted of corruption said their view of the law had changed significantly after they experienced what being on the wrong side of it felt like.

Detective sergeants Weziwe Lupa, 37, and Babalwa Kondlo, 41, were arrested in February last year after they were accused of forging signatures on withdrawal statements. There was never any evidence the women received kickbacks.

An investigation was launched into officers at the Gelvandale detectives branch after Constable Lusanda Mpongoma accepted a R1600 bribe to withdraw a case of theft. She was subsequently sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

Lupa and Kondlo were immediately suspended from the force in late 2012 after it was found they had allegedly falsified the signatures of more than 20 complainants in a variety of cases, causing the dockets to be closed. They were formally charged in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court a year later.

On May 30, Lupa was acquitted after a handwriting expert found the signatures on the withdrawal statements could not have been forged.

Then, on Wednesday, Kondlo also tasted victory. - Kathryn Kimberley