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Disgraced former regional magistrate Ronnie Rambau.

Disgraced former regional magistrate a “free” man again

 

Disgraced former regional magistrate Ronnie Rambau (58) from Louis Trichardt, who was convicted of corruption and sent to jail last year, is once again a “free” man.

The Justice Department’s celebrations in securing convictions against Rambau and two co-accused, ex-prosecutor Estene Willemse and attorney Tivoneleni Edmond Lubisi, after an eight-year-long court battle, were short-lived when the fact that Rambau was released on medical parole less than two months into his 15-year sentence came to light.

The trio were charged with corruption and conspiracy to commit corruption, following their arrest during a police trap in February 2010 for allegedly receiving bribes to influence the outcome of criminal cases.

Rambau, Willemse and Lubisi were all found guilty on charges relating to corruption by the Musina Regional Court on 28 June last year. On 25 October of that year, the same court sentenced Rambau to 15 years’ imprisonment on two counts of corruption. Lubisi was also sentenced to 15 years, but on four counts of corruption. Willemse received a 10-year sentence on two counts of corruption. All sentences were to be served concurrently, while the court denied the three men leave to appeal against their sentences.  

Apparently, Rambau was quietly released from prison on 5 December last year. According to the Department of Correctional Services (DoCS), Rambau was released on medical parole in line with medical reasons as outlined in the department’s medical parole and procedure manual. Rambau was reportedly admitted to jail with a pre-existing condition that was identified upon admission and was verified by departmental medical professionals and reports from private doctors.

According to the DoCS, any sentenced offender may be considered for placement on medical parole by the National Commissioner, the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board or the Minister, as the case may be, if such an offender is suffering from a terminal disease or condition, or if such an offender is rendered physically incapacitated as a result of injury, disease, or illness that severely limits daily activity or the inmate’s self-care. An offender may also be released on medical parole if the risk of re-offending is low and appropriate arrangements can be made for the inmate’s supervision, care and treatment within the community into which the inmate is being released.

As for the “terms and conditions” of Rambau’s release, he was placed in the medium-risk monitoring category and must be constantly monitored by a Community Corrections supervisor. He was also placed under house arrest, except when attending to medical procedures.

 

News - Date: 19 January 2019

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]

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