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Prominent gospel star and medical doctor, Dr Tumi and his wife have been released on bail after their arrest for allegedly defrauding the National Lotteries Board.

The couple, who were escorted by their lawyer, handed themselves in earlier on Tuesday.

Confirming the arrests in a media statement, Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu said Dr Tumi, real name Tumisang Victor Makweya, 39, and his wife Kgaogelo Sara Makweya, 36, were listed as committee members at a non-profit organisation when the alleged fraud took place.

She said they allegedly submitted altered grant application documents to the National Lotteries Board for approval of funds on projects in 2018.

“Further investigation revealed that the couple together with their co-accused who have since been released on R5 000 bail each, Chistopher Tshivule (46) and Thomas Ndadza (48) allegedly altered information on the documents submitted to the National Lotteries in September 2018 which resulted to the amount of over R1.5m being transferred into a private bank account,” said Mulamu.

“The couple allegedly benefitted approximately R760,000 from the funds. They handed themselves in at the Johannesburg office escorted by their attorney and were subsequently charged for fraud.

“They appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court today and were granted bail of R3,000 each. The case was postponed to 07 May 2021 for docket disclosure,” she said. – TimesLIVE