The Bloemfontein High Court has sentenced former Free State Education Department Deputy Director General Teboho Lioma to 10 years imprisonment, of which three years are suspended, for his involvement in tender corruption.
lawyer Nelson Majola has been sentenced to five years imprisonment, of which two years are suspended.
The Bloemfontein High Court was filled with visibly tense friends and family members of the accused.
The case relates to the allocation of learner material tenders in the Free State over a three year period.
It has been dragging on for years, following arrests by the then organised crime unit, the Scorpions.
The accused include former SABC journalist turned business woman Ntebo Lesetla and well-known controversial Free State businessman, Blacky Seoe.
Mabolela Distributors, a company linked to Seoe, secured a tender from Lioma’s department.
The court found that the declaration of interest for the tender in question did not reflect the fact that Seoe and Lioma knew each other.
The Free State Education Department says it respects the country’s rule of law.
Lioma and Majola are both out on R5 000 bail and are appealing their sentences.
![[File Image]: A police tape cordons the crime scene.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/crimesceneR.jpg){kind=small}
