EASTERN CAPE – The East London Magistrate’s Court convicted the company director Nkgaoli Ezekiel Lushozi (60) and his business entity Newboss Construction on 31 May 2024 for charges of fraud. After several attempts to arrest Lushozi who managed to evade arrest until he was ultimately arrested whilst on the run at Maseru boarder by the East London Serious Commercial Crime Investigation of the Hawks on 7 August 2022. He then appeared in court on the same day of the arrest. The suspect was thus released on R10 000 bail.
In August 2010, the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) Human Settlement in East London advertised a tender project to build low cost houses at Buffalo City rural areas. The tender was eventually awarded to Newboss construction. Subsequently, the accused and his business entity applied for financial advance through Nurcha company and the agreement was concluded between the two companies that a controlled account be opened wherein the payment was to be made by BCM. Moreover, their letter of agreement was attached to the contract submitted to BCM containing the said account number.
The agreement was that Nurcha after BCM has deposited money into the controlled account, Nurcha should take his portion and pay the balance to the Newboss construction but that never happened hence the lodge of the complaint to the Hawks for probing.
An intensive investigation revealed that Lushozi misrepresented their agreement and made changes on company bank accounts without the knowledge of Nurcha. Further investigations divulged that he instructed BCM to make payment to his company account. Moreover, he submitted invoices to induce the Municipality to pay cash straight to his company. This investigation led to his arrest on 7 August 2022 where he was released on bail .
Lushozi made numerous court appearances until his conviction on 31 May 2024 and the matter was thus remanded to 30 August 2024 for sentencing.
Content retrieved from: https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=53592.