Man caught trying to steal R47,000 dialysis equipment for R5,000

A man who tried to bribe a dialysis facility manager into stealing life-saving medical equipment for just R5,000 has been convicted and sentenced after a Hawks undercover operation exposed the scheme.

Thabiso Steven Mokwana, 38, was sentenced in the Evander Regional Court on 28 October after pleading guilty to corruption, conspiracy and theft involving dialysis equipment worth approximately R47,000.

The case stems from an incident on 22 May 2024, when Mokwana approached the manager of a dialysis facility in Trichardt, Mpumalanga, with a proposal to steal dialysis consumables from the institution in exchange for R5,000.

Instead of accepting the offer, the manager alerted the Hawks' Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Secunda.

Investigators subsequently authorised a controlled operation to catch Mokwana in the act.

The transaction went ahead under the watch of investigators, who arrested him immediately after the dialysis equipment had been loaded into a Volkswagen Polo.

Mokwana was sentenced to a R6,000 fine or two years' imprisonment for corruption.

He received a further 18 months' imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, for conspiracy and inducing another person to commit a crime.

For theft, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, also wholly suspended for five years.

The Hawks said the operation demonstrated the importance of protecting medical resources intended to support essential healthcare services.

Mpumalanga Hawks provincial head Major General Nico Gerber praised the investigation and prosecution, warning that corruption threatened the integrity of critical institutions.

"Corruption is an insidious scourge that erodes public trust and threatens the integrity of essential institutions. This conviction demonstrates that those who seek to enrich themselves through dishonest means will find no sanctuary from the law," Gerber said.

He said the Hawks remained committed to dismantling criminal schemes that undermined the rule of law and jeopardised services relied upon by communities.

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation also commended the facility manager for reporting the attempted bribery rather than participating in the theft.