Former State Security Agency finance clerk sentenced to 6 years imprisonment for theft

11 April 2022

The NPA welcomes the sentence of 6 years direct imprisonment for theft of R170 000, handed down by the Pretoria Special Commercial Crimes Court to a former State Security Agency (SSA) Finance Clerk, Kgaogelo Bopape (53).

On 07 April 2020, Bopape withdrew R500 000 under the false pretence that she would make the funds available to the members of the SSA operations. She then kept the funds in a lockable safe in her office, and later took R170 000 and used it for her benefit. However, she paid R10 000 back to the SSA.

When the Finance Manager of the division was doing a spot check audit, he discovered that there was an amount of R500 000 missing from the safe. After internal investigations were done, an opened packet containing R330 000 was found inside Bopape’s office, and upon interrogation, she eventually admitted to stealing R170 000. The matter was reported to the police, and she was arrested on 26 January 2021. Bopape pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.

During the arguments in court, prosecutor Adv. Billy Moalosi said Bopape was in a position of trust but she used that to her advantage because she knew there wouldn’t be any suspicions. “The fact that she pleaded guilty cannot be seen as remorse, but rather regret because the state had a strong case against her.”

In delivering his judgement, the magistrate said factors whether mitigating or aggravating are irrelevant. Bopape committed a serious crime, that deserved a sentence that matched its seriousness. The accused lived above her means and stole the money to maintain her lifestyle. She should have known better, because of her age and her position of trust, especially with her work experience and should have been able to distinguish between right and wrong.

The DPP Adv. Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentence and said that he hopes that it will send a strong message that the State takes crimes of theft, corruption and fraud, especially committed by government officials very seriously and will be pursued strongly in court.

Issued by Lumka Mahanjana, NPA Regional Spokesperson, 12 April 2022