Cape Town - The Hawks have raided the offices of the Kannaland municipality following allegations of financial misconduct.
The raid at the municipality's offices in Ladismith started early today and was, according to sources, still underway.
One source said officials were leaving the building with “boxes full of stuff”.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani confirmed the ‘’search and seizure’’ operation.
She also said the investigation was ongoing and could not confirm what was seized.
Kannaland Municipal Manager Hendrik Barnard also confirmed the raid and said it mainly focused on the Finance Department.
‘’I left for George this morning and was only told of the raid by others. But it appears that the Hawks were investigating charges laid by an individual,’’ said Barnard.
Mayor Jeffrey Donson said although he was aware of the raid, he had travelled to Calitzdorp on official business.
Donson said the news of the raid came as no surprise to him and labelled it as ‘’political’’.
‘’We've had similar raids for the past 19 years. And we have never faced charges. We've never landed in jail as a result of the raids,’’ said Donson.
The municipality has been dogged by controversy for the past few years.
In 2021, top officials, including Barnard, former CFO Nigel Delo, municipal manager Morne Hoogbaard and human resources manager McGrandile Makier, were arrested and slapped with fraud charges after an investigation by the Hawks.
They were accused of allegedly defrauding the municipality of more than R338 million.
Donson was convicted of statutory rape and indecent assault of a 15-year-old while he was mayor in 2008.
The rape incident took place in 2004.