Former Muvhango actor acquitted on 167 charges of fraud

Former Muvhango star Joe Ragwala, who was facing 167 charges of fraud, is still celebrating his victory after the Sibasa Regional Court acquitted him on all the charges.

Regional Court magistrate Ms Jakkie Wessels cleared Ragwala (45) and co-accused Ms Nelly Lekgetho (67) last Wednesday of all the charges they were facing. Ragwala’s former lover, Ms Doris Mthembi (47), was convicted on five counts of fraud. She will appear in court again on 14 October 2019 for a pre-sentencing report.

In her judgment that took the whole of Wednesday last week, Magistrate Wessels said the evidence by witnesses was not that convincing. The State could not prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and the accused should be given the benefit of the doubt.

The trio were arrested in 2009 after businessman Mr Mugwena had allegedly discovered the fraud.

The trial started in 2015 and has been postponed many times. At the time, R1,3 million was said to have been defrauded from Mugwena’s business, Injectmed Paramedic College, over a period of four years. The modus operandi was that students who were supposed to pay their fees into the college’s bank account were made to pay cash at the college, which was then allegedly taken by the suspects.

Speaking outside court after the acquittal, Ragwala said he was relieved it was over. “The court has vindicated me. I always maintained that I was innocent and knew the cases were some of those tests in life that one must go through. In all, I see the grace and mercy of my God that after all these tribulations I am still intact,” he added.

He further indicated that he lost a lot in life after being accused of the fraud. “I lost my job at Muvhango, my marketing company closed shop as clients could no longer trust me. That was the worst setback in my life, but I am now picking up the pieces and luckily there are already acting offers in the pipeline, by God’s grace and mercy,” Ragwala said. He said he was still to sit down with his lawyers to chart the way forward.

Mugwena, who was in court, said he would respect the verdict of the court. “This is the close of a chapter that has troubled my life for many years. I have been in and out of court, which affected the running of my businesses and my social life. I am now relieved it is over,” he said.

News - Date: 22 August 2019

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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