South Africa News: Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thami Tsolekile and Ethy Mbhalati arrested and charged with corruption
Former South Africa cricketers Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Thami Tsolekile, along with former Titans bowler Ethy Mbhalati, have been arrested and charged with five counts of corruption under section 15 of the Prevention and Fighting Act against corrupt activities of 2004.

They have been charged under section 15 of the law, which relates to corrupt activities related to sporting events, including accepting or offering to accept any gratification from another person for engaging in any act that threatens to undermine the integrity of a sporting event or influence the development of the game.

The charges date back to the match-fixing saga surrounding the 2015-16 Ram Slam Challenge. These three players are among seven who were sanctioned by cricket South Africa in 2016 and 2017 for their involvement in attempts to fix matches during the domestic T20 tournament.
Gulam Bodi has already served prison time, while Jean Symes and Pumi Matshikwe received suspended sentences after pleading guilty in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The cases against Tsotsobe, Tsolekile and Mbhalati are postponed until February 2025.

The seven players also received sanctions of between two and 12 years from the CSA, in relation to their participation in the game.

The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act came into force following the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal in 2000, and is understood to be the first time it has been used to charge athletes with crimes. The charges followed an investigation by the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), known as Hawks, a special branch of the South African Police Service that investigates organized and economic crime.

“Corruption undermines the integrity of sport and the Hawks are determined to safeguard the values ​​of fairness and professionalism in all areas of society. We thank cricket South Africa for their cooperation and commitment to tackling this scourge,” said Lieutenant General Godfrey. Lebeya, national director. of the DPCI, said in a statement issued on Friday.

At the time of the initial investigation, CSA said that none of the tournament matches were affected by match-fixing after the plotters’ plans were thwarted. It has since been established that Bodi, in collusion with Indian bookmakers, approached several players to participate in the fixing of three matches in the tournament and also understood that none of the fixing actually took place.

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