South Africa’s Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thamsanqa Tsolekile and Ethy Mbhalati Arrested For Match-Fixing Charges

South Africa’s cricket team has been dealt a major blow following the arrest and charging of three former players on charges of corruption in the sport. The charges arose from match-fixing activities in the 2015/2016 Ram Slam T20 Challenge, in which it is alleged the three took or agreed to take bribes to fix matches. The charges were investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks.

Charges include match-fixing with Indian bookmakers and refer to three attempts at manipulating three matches in the domestic T20 tournament. Nevertheless, CSA earlier said that no matches were actually affected after the conspirators’ schemes were exposed.

Tsotsobe and Tsolekile are busted for corruption charges and the trial has been scheduled for February 26, 2025. The case has been postponed to February 20th, 2025 for Mbhalati. The arrests mark a major step of a broader probe into match-fixing related to South African cricket.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the most famous of the three players:

 

There have been seven cricketers from South Africa who were banned by CSA between 2016 and 2017 following their participation in a match-fixing scam that involved Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thami Tsolekile, and Ethy Mbhalati.

It also comprises Gulam Bodi, who has been to prison; Jean Symes and Pumi Matshikwe, who were both sentenced to suspended imprisonment after pleading guilty in 2021 and 2022. The seventh player under these allegations is Alviro Petersen, who has not received any information concerning charges.

Charges against Tsotsobe, Tsolekile, and Mbhalati include violation of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, a law that has just been applied to the sportspersons. The trials involving the three have been moved to February 2025 to allow for more legal proceedings. It will aid in the fight against corruption within South African cricket, especially since the match-fixing scandal that prompted the promulgation of the Act in 2000.