Hawks arrest Department of Labour supervisors over R53,000 UIF fraud
Two Labour supervisors and an accomplice appeared in court over an alleged R53,000 UIF payout scam
Image: Karen Sandison/Independent Media
Three people, including two Department of Labour registration supervisors, have appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defrauding the department of more than R53,000 in an Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) claim.
Simphiwe Dube, 22, Fekeza Mathe, 36, and Mathews Pitse, 48, were arrested earlier this week by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit.
Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said the case relates to a fraudulent UIF application submitted in October 2019.
“Our investigation found that the claimant was never an employee of the company he claimed to have worked for, yet the application was processed and paid out,” he said.
Mathebula said investigators discovered irregularities in how the claim was processed.
“It was established that Mr Pitse, who is a registration supervisor at the Department of Labour in Klerksdorp, used the centre number of Mmabatho instead of the one for Klerksdorp. This was one of the red flags that led to the investigation,” he explained.
After the UIF payment was made, funds were allegedly shared among the accused.
“The claimant transferred R24,500 to Mr Dube and a further R21,500 to Ms Mathe shortly after receiving the money,” Mathebula said.
The trio was arrested on 17 and 18 November and charged with fraud. They appeared in court on Wednesday, where they were each granted R2,000 bail. The case was postponed to 7 January 2026.
Mathebula said the Hawks are continuing efforts to trace the original claimant.
He said the main suspect, who submitted the UIF application, is still at large, and Hawks teams are working to bring him to book.
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