Under Section 15 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, authorities have detained and charged former Titans bowler Ethy Mbhalati, former South Africa cricket players Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Thami Tsolekile with five charges of corruption.
The accusations stem from the Ram Slam Challenge match-fixing scandal of 2015–16. In 2016 and 2017, Cricket South Africa suspended seven players for their involvement in match-fixing efforts during the local T20 event, including these three.
The court handed Jean Symes and Pumi Matshikwe suspended sentences after they entered guilty pleas in 2021 and 2022, respectively, while Gulam Bodi has already completed his prison term. The authorities have put Tsotsobe, Tsolekile, and Mbhalati cases on hold until February 2025.
No one has provided information on any action taken against Alviro Petersen, Mbhalati the seventh player.
Due to their participation in the game, CSA additionally banned all seven players for a period ranging from two to twelve years.
Experts believe that this is the first time that the authorities have charged athletes under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, which went into force in the wake of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing incident in 2000. The Hawks, also known as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), a special division of the South African Police Service that looks into economic and organized crime, brought the accusations after an investigation.
Corruption threatens the integrity of sport, and the Hawks commit to defending the principles of professionalism and justice in all spheres of society. In a statement released on Friday, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, National Head of the DPCI, stated, “We appreciate Cricket South Africa’s cooperation and dedication to combating this scourge.”
CSA stated at the time of the preliminary inquiry that when the conspirators’ schemes were thwarted, they did not impact any of the tournament’s matches with match-fixing. Bodi, along with Indian bookies, recently approached a number of players to attempt to fix three tournament matches. Bodi also knew that none of the fixes really happened.
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