Arrest warrant issued for Nombiba

An arrest warrant has been issued for disgraced Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Bongo Nombiba – after he failed to submit papers petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal a fraud conviction and sentence.

Commercial Crimes prosecutor Wilhelm de Villiers confirmed that the arrest warrant had been issued on Monday morning. De Villiers added that he had spoken to the Investigating Officer to inform him of the arrest warrant but Nombiba has not yet been tracked down.

Nombiba was arrested in December 2016 and charged with one count of fraud, two counts of corruption and one count of contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

He pleaded not guilty.

The court found he had duped an NGO’s members into handing over R20,000 of a R30,000 donation he had helped secure.

Nombiba started serving his five-year sentence at St Albans in April, but he was later granted bail pending his application to appeal both his conviction and sentence.

The Eastern Cape High Court earlier this month denied his appeal, which is why he is now turning to the Supreme Court of Appeal.