Letter presented at uThukela Municipality manager’s corruption case

The defence in the corruption case against uThukela District Municipality Manager Langelihle Jili has presented a letter from district mayor Inkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala, addressing the municipality’s position on Jili potentially returning to work if granted bail. Defence lawyer Advocate Paul Jorgensen presented the letter during proceedings at the Durban Regional Court on Thursday, where Jili and his co-accused, Bongumenzi Dlamini, are applying for bail. Jili and Dlamini were arrested early this month following allegations that Jili solicited money from a service provider in exchange for processing payments owed by the municipality. The state alleges that Jili demanded more than R1.25-million in connection with a municipal payment of about R3-million. Jili is also accused of offering police officers R600 000 in gratification during his arrest, with Dlamini allegedly delivering the cash to the Hawks’ offices in Durban. “As a municipality, we have improved in terms of financial viability. The municipality supports that the municipal manager is innocent until proven guilty and is willing to accept Mr Jili back to work. the duty back to work. The municipality will, of course, ensure that strict measures are in place to ensure distance between the municipal manager and wise security, and training, in all respects, should the court impose such a condition,” the mayor of uThukela District municipality reads. uThukela District Municipality Manager Langalihle Jili and co-accused Bongimenzi Dlamini, 26, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on corruption charges. Jili allegedly demanded R550,000 from a service provider to facilitate payment of invoices linked to two tenders. Dlamini allegedly delivered R600,000 to police to secure Jili’s release and have the case against him wiped out. They return to court Tuesday for bail applications. Credit: Gcinokuhle Malinga — SABC News (@SABCNews) October 23, 2026