Jeff Ledwaba

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Charge:	Theft and Fraud
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:	2005
Year Convicted:	2015
Year Cleared:	2018
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	South Africa
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City of Crime:
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Jeff Ledwaba was wrongly convicted in 2015 of four counts of theft and two counts of fraud in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ledwaba's fraud prosecution was based on allegations that when he was the investigating director of the Scorpions he defrauded the Directorate of Special Operations’ C-Fund by submitting false claims and stealing money from a business trust involving more than R934 000. He resigned from the Scorpions in 2005. Ledwaba's theft prosecution was based on payments for consultancy work he allegedly did for the Gauteng safety and security department, initially in partnership with his brother-in-law, and later on his own. After his conviction following a bench trial, Ledwaba was sentenced to 10 years in prison. On January 16, 2018 the High Court in Johannesburg set-aside all of Ledwaba's convictions and ordered his acquittal based on the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court ruled that testimony by key prosecution witness Lawrence Mrwebi was filled with contradictions and inconsistencies, and it was premised on an attack on Ledwaba’s character. Mrwebi even conceded he had lied in his evidence. Judge Zeenat Carelse and Acting Judge Andre Petersen stated in the Court's ruling that the prosecution's case was based on speculation and assumptions on which the magistrate relied for Ledwaba's convictions."
Conviction Caused By:	"Prosecution's case was based on unreliable evidence, speculation and assumptions."
Innocence Proved By:	"On January 16, 2018 the High Court in Johannesburg set-aside all of Ledwaba's convictions and ordered his acquittal based on the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court ruled that testimony by key prosecution witness Lawrence Mrwebi was filled with contradictions and inconsistencies, and it was premised on an attack on Ledwaba’s character. Mrwebi even conceded he had lied in his evidence. Judge Zeenat Carelse and Acting Judge Andre Petersen stated in the Court's ruling that the prosecution's case was based on speculation and assumptions on which the magistrate relied for Ledwaba's convictions."
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Was Perpetrator Identified?
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Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Ex-Scorpions chief off the hook, By Ilse de Lange, The Citizen (Johannesburg, South Africa), January 17, 2018"
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Jeff Ledwaba

Charge:

Theft and Fraud

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

2005

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2018

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

South Africa

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

"Prosecution's case was based on unreliable evidence, speculation and assumptions."

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Ex-Scorpions chief off the hook, By Ilse de Lange, The Citizen (Johannesburg, South Africa), January 17, 2018"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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