The former municipal manager was sentenced by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
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THE FORMER municipal manager of Karoo Hoogland Municipality, Louis Nothnagel, 63, was sentenced to four years of direct imprisonment by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberley on March 11.
Hawks Northern Cape spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tebogo Thebe said Nothnagel was charged with theft and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
"He was sentenced to four years direct imprisonment and ordered to pay back R500,000 to the State. He was found guilty on July 16, 2024, and sentenced on Tuesday this week. He was charged alongside the former chief financial officer (CFO), who died shortly after being arrested in February 2013," said Thebe.
He explained that Nothnagel and the deceased CFO had paid each other performance bonuses while at the municipality, without the necessary council approvals and in contravention of applicable regulations.
"The wife of the deceased CFO, Arina Botha, 53, was found guilty on the alternative count of theft, as well as money laundering. She was sentenced to five years of direct imprisonment and she was further ordered to pay R200,000 back to the State," added Thebe.
The provincial head of the Hawks in Northern Cape, Major-General Stephen Mabuela, commended the work of the investigation team and the prosecution.
“Local government corruption has to be arrested at some stage, this conviction sends the right message,” he said.
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