Court interpreter who 'solicited bribes to withdraw cases' talked himself behind bars

A Mpumalanga court interpreter accused of soliciting bribes from two people in exchange for having their cases withdrawn will have to stay behind bars until his next court appearance. 

Busizwe Zizwe Zitha, 40, based at the Mkhuhlu court, appeared in the Bushbuckridge magistrate's court on Monday, facing corruption charges. He is accused of soliciting money from two people in exchange for ensuring ongoing cases against them were withdrawn.

In the first incident, he allegedly approached a man facing two domestic violence related cases earlier this year “demanding money and claiming that he would withdraw his two cases”.

“The victim paid the money as demanded but the case was not withdrawn.

“It is further alleged that the interpreter continued soliciting money from the victim on different occasions, stating that he needed to pay for the prosecutor's personal needs in order for the case docket to be destroyed permanently. The victim kept acceding to the demands but, to his surprise, the case kept being postponed,” said Capt Dineo Sekgotodi.

The man reported this to the Hawks who arrested Zitha last Friday.

A second person has since come forward, levelling similar accusations against the interpreter. 

It was unclear how much money Zitha solicited.

Sekgotodi confirmed that the case was postponed to Thursday for further investigation and a possible bail application.

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