School clerk jailed 12 years after defrauding North West school through 170 fraud counts

A former North West school administration clerk has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment after pleading guilty to 170 counts of fraud linked to the theft of funds intended for school operations.

The Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Rustenburg convicted 37-year-old Ofentse Molemane after he admitted to orchestrating an elaborate fraud scheme while employed as an administration clerk at the school between 2019 and 2020.

In a statement the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that Molemane repeatedly transferred school funds into his personal bank account and unlawfully paid himself money to which he was not entitled.

During sentencing proceedings, State Advocate Nkhetheni Mudau told the court that Molemane carefully planned the fraud by creating fictitious invoices purportedly issued by legitimate service providers to conceal the theft of school funds.

The court accepted the State's submissions, finding that Molemane had abused the trust placed in him as a custodian of public funds. It ruled that instead of safeguarding the school's finances, he used the stolen money to fund his personal lifestyle and private business, leaving the school, its School Governing Body and legitimate service providers financially prejudiced.

The court also rejected the accused's claim that part of the stolen money had been used to build a house for his grandmother, describing his actions as motivated by greed. It further found that his guilty plea did not demonstrate genuine remorse but was aimed at securing a reduced sentence.

Molemane was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, with four years wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of fraud or a similar offence during the suspension period. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Welcoming the outcome, North West Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Rachel Makhari said the sentence reaffirmed the NPA's commitment to tackling corruption and financial crimes involving public resources.

She said corruption in public institutions undermines service delivery and erodes public confidence, adding that those who abuse positions of trust would continue to face the full might of the law.

The NPA reiterated that it remains committed to holding accountable individuals who misappropriate public funds and ensuring that such offences attract appropriate consequences.