Ill health of accused delays State Security Agency fraud trial

The trial of State Security Agency (SSA) employee Thuso Oesi has been postponed to July 18 by the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court.

Oesi, who worked in the IT department, allegedly stole R1m from the agency.

He did not appear in court on Tuesday when the trial was expected to start but submitted a medical certificate through his legal representative.

He made his first appearance in court in April last year.

It was reported that he faces 28 counts including theft and fraud, and allegedly manipulating the IT system to line his pockets in 2019 and 2020.

According to the state, Oesi, who had worked for the agency for more than 10 years, allegedly created fake payment advance authorisations in favour of himself for training courses he never attended.

He allegedly requested the payments be made into his personal bank account.

TimesLIVE previously reported that as listed on the charge sheet, Oesi — who earns just more than R46,000 a month at the agency — twice fiddled the system to change his salary. One month he made it R80,268 and on the second occasion he more than trebled it to R174,141.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the case was postponed because the accused was not in court on Tuesday due to ill health.

“A medical certificate was handed in by his legal representative,” she said.

Oesi was suspended from the agency. However, according to SSA spokesperson Mava Scott, he has been back at work since October.

In another case involving the agency, former SSA finance clerk Kgaogelo Bopape, convicted of stealing R170,000, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment in April this year.

In April 2020, Bopape withdrew R500,000 under the pretence that she would make the funds available to members of the SSA for work. She then kept the funds in a locked safe in her office and later took R170,000 which she used for her own benefit.

TimesLIVE