Takalani Tshivhase, the Pinnacle Holdings director who has been charged with corruption for allegedly attempting to bribe a senior police official to secure a technology contract, has denied the allegations against him.
In a statement issued on the JSE’s Sens news service on Tuesday, Pinnacle said that Tshivhase will defend the charges against him in court.
He stands accused of bribing a lieutenant-general of the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) with an amount of R5m. According to Pinnacle, the alleged incident took place in mid-January 2013.
“From the evidence thus far available to the company, the company is satisfied that there is no reason to doubt the veracity of Mr Tshivhase’s denial of the allegations,” Pinnacle said.
“The company will review the matter as further information becomes available and will inform shareholders accordingly.”
The SAPS said on Monday that Tshivhase had appeared in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on a charge of corruption. He allegedly bribed a top official in the technology management environment of the SAPS to secure a multimillion-rand tender to provide field terminal units. The units are electronic handheld devices used by the police during investigations.
The serious economic offences unit of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, arrested Tshivhase at his office in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, on 5 March. He was released on R10 000 bail the same day. The case has been postponed until 24 April for further investigation.
“This arrest should serve as a reminder to companies doing business with government that corruption is not an option in securing business deals,” said Hawks lieutenant-general Anwa Dramat. — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media
