As first reported by IOL and the African News Agency, Kwena Mohlala, 42, was sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment by the Piet Retief Regional Court in Mpumalanga on Friday, 11 September 2026, for attempting to defraud the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The conviction, following a plea and sentence agreement, was confirmed by Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi.
“The official reported that he had received a call from Mohlala, who allegedly introduced himself as being from Gauteng and attempted to recruit the official into an unlawful scheme involving the processing of fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) applications,” Nkosi said.
Mohlala was arrested on 18 February 2022 during an undercover operation after he handed over five bogus UIF claim forms to the labour department official who had been acting as an agent. The Secunda Serious Corruption Investigation unit of the Hawks had set up the sting after the official reported the approach earlier that month.
“On February 18, 2022, the Hawks conducted an undercover operation in which Mohlala was arrested shortly after handing over five fraudulent UIF claim forms to the official, who was acting as an agent during the operation,” Nkosi said.
Mohlala was initially granted bail and appeared in the Piet Retief Magistrate’s Court four times before he failed to attend a subsequent hearing. A warrant was issued, and when he was re‑arrested the state successfully opposed bail, keeping him in custody until his conviction.
The regional court sentenced him to five years for corruption and 12 months on each of the five fraud counts, with all fraud sentences ordered to run concurrently. Mohlala was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Major General Nico Gerber, the provincial head of the Hawks, said the unit would not relent in pursuing individuals who abuse government systems. The case is one of several UIF fraud prosecutions in the country, including a R27‑million TERS scam in Mpumalanga that involved more than 700 ghost employees and led to three arrests in May 2026.
Mohlala is expected to begin serving his sentence at a correctional facility in Mpumalanga immediately. The Department of Employment and Labour had not released a statement on the sentencing by the time of publication.