A traffic officer employed by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality was found guilty of accepting a R400 bribe and sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment on Wednesday.
Vuyani Totoyi, 44, was found guilty of corruption in the Port Elizabeth Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after he unlawfully accepted a bribe in November 2014.
Court papers reveal that Totoyi, while on duty in the Despatch area, stopped Ruan van Tonder and told him he was unhappy with the tyres on the front of his vehicle.
Totoyi then asked that Van Tonder “make him smile”, insinuating that he would accept a bribe.
Van Tonder then offered to pay him R400, which Totoyi accepted.
Van Tonder did not have any money on him and arranged a meeting place where he would later give the officer the money.
After getting the R400 from his brother, Van Tonder first stopped at the Despatch police station to report the matter.
The police followed him to meet Totoyi at the Drommedaris Cafe where Van Tonder handed over the money.
The police, having witnessed the exchange, arrested Totoyi on the spot.
In handing down sentence, magistrate Lionel Lindoor said: “The money constitutes a gratification as described in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. The manner in which the accused acted in offering to accept the gratification falls within the ambit of the manner variously prescribed.
“This amounts to illegal, dishonest, unauthorised, incomplete or biased exercise, carrying out or performance of any powers.”
Totoyi was also found to have abused his authority and breached trust.
Safety and security executive director advocate Keith Meyer said the judgment and ruling was a warning to all traffic officers not to indulge in unlawful activity.
“Accepting a bribe is unacceptable and we want to warn traffic officials not to go there,” Meyer said.