Corrupt Advocate gets nine-year suspended sentence for R50k bribe

Zuko Komisa

Advocate Phuthi Given Mothemane has been handed a nine-year suspended sentence and correctional supervision after being convicted of corruption.
The 38-year-old attempted to bribe an NPA prosecutor with R50,000 to make a client’s case “disappear” through manipulated representations.
The Bellville Regional Court sentencing on 20 October follows an investigation by the Hawks into the integrity of the legal profession.

An advocate who attempted to bribe a prosecutor to make a case “vanish” has been handed a nine-year suspended sentence and correctional supervision by the Bellville Regional Court.

Phuthi Given Mothemane, 38, was sentenced on 20 October 2025 after being convicted of corruption. The court imposed a nine-year custodial sentence, which was wholly suspended for five years, alongside an additional three years of correctional supervision.

The conviction follows an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team, which led to Mothemane’s arrest in September 2023. The advocate’s downfall began when the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reported the attempted bribe the previous year.

Court records show that on 23 September 2022, Mr Mothemane approached an NPA member and offered a R50,000 payment. The money was intended to influence a case in his client’s favour by ensuring the State’s file would “disappear” through manipulated representations.

Mothemane’s sentencing marks the culmination of the matter and underscores the determination of the Hawks and the NPA to root out corruption within the legal profession and protect the integrity of South Africa’s justice system.