Nigerian interpreter and accomplice fined for bribery in Cape Town drug case

A Nigerian court interpreter and his compatriot have been sentenced in the Western Cape for attempting to bribe a police officer in a drug-related case.

The Bellville Regional Court handed down the sentences on Tuesday after 44-year-old Livinus Okechukwu Ndukuba and 53-year-old Cletus Obiwuru entered into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.

Both men were sentenced to a fine of R15,000 or three years’ imprisonment, and were declared unfit to possess a firearm.

According to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, the matter dates back to when Obiwuru was standing trial for drug dealing. During the proceedings, Ndukuba, who was employed as a court interpreter, allegedly took advantage of his position and approached the arresting officer in the case.

Hawks Western Cape spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi said Ndukuba initiated contact with the officer and arranged a meeting between him and Obiwuru, during which a bribe was offered.

“Ndukuba arranged a meeting between the investigating officer and the accused (Obiwuru), where a bribe was offered,” said Vukubi.

He said during that meeting, Obiwuru offered the police officer R15,000 in exchange for altering his testimony to benefit the accused in the ongoing drug case.

“The matter was reported to the Hawks for probing, and investigation revealed that Obiwuru offered the investigating officer an amount of R15 000 to alter his testimony. The operation was conducted, where both accused were subsequently arrested," said Vukubi.

The case has drawn attention because of the interpreter’s role within the justice system — a position that requires impartiality and trust. Crime analysts told IOL that Ndukuba’s conduct undermined the integrity of the court process and sought to compromise the fairness of a criminal trial.

Last year, IOL reported that a former interpreter at the Mkhuhlu Magistrate's Court in Mpumalanga, Buzizwe Zizwe Zitha was found guilty of corruption and sentenced by the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Zitha was convicted on charges of corruption, contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities (Precca) Act.

The sentence followed after Zitha was arrested in April 2021, after information received by law enforcement authorities, regarding an interpreter at the Mkhuhlu Magistrate’s Court soliciting gratification from an accused person.

Zitha sought the bribe from a person who was appearing in court on two domestic violence-related cases.

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