Rory Petrus, a former employee of the Sundays River Valley Municipality traffic department, has finally been sentenced. (Photos: Supplied / Facebook) 
While former traffic department employee Rory Petrus prepares for sentencing in the Gqeberha High Court this week, his case has been overshadowed by a strange turn of events: the acting judge who convicted him is now herself facing fraud charges.
Petrus, 37, a former employee of the Sundays River Valley Municipality’s traffic department, was convicted in January on 50 charges, including fraud, forgery, racketeering and corruption — all linked to issuing bogus learner’s and driver’s licences. He will return to court on Thursday, when sentencing proceedings are set to begin.
Petrus’s court proceedings have been marred by a series of delays in recent months, but newly assigned acting judge Mzamo Nobatana is scheduled to get the matter back on track on 4 September.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Siphokazi-Cubungu-11.jpg "Acting judge Siphokazi Cubungu was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption in May. She convicted Rory Petrus of fraud before herself being arrested. (Photo: Supplied / NPA / Facebook).")
Among the biggest twists in the Petrus matter came when the presiding officer who convicted him, Gqeberha advocate and acting judge Siphokazi Cubungu, was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption in May.
The State alleges that Cubungu, along with her co-accused Dumisani Zwane, bypassed internal controls and court processes, which saw money paid directly into their own private accounts.
The pair made a brief appearance in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gqeberha on Monday.
Petrus’s matter dates back to 2019 when the police in Nqweba (formerly Kirkwood) conducted an undercover operation after reports of corrupt officials surfaced.
Using hidden cameras, disguised police officers filmed officials taking payments to provide them with falsified official documents.
Members of the investigative team said Petrus offered “special packages” where people could pay R5,000 for a driver’s licence and receive it on the same day without completing any tests or paperwork.
Petrus’s father, the late Andrew Petrus, was a manager at the same traffic department and was well aware of his son’s transgressions. However, all criminal activity pertaining to Petrus was swept under the rug while his father was still alive.
Petrus stood trial with two colleagues, Zoleka Nopote and Nonceba Jack, but they were acquitted of all charges.
Cubungu convicted Petrus, but she was arrested before sentencing. Advocate and acting judge Nobatana has since acquainted himself with the record of the case and is set to proceed with sentencing.
Meanwhile, Cubungu, with Zwane, will return to court on 28 October.
The charges against them stem from a series of transactions that took place between March 2022 and November 2023, totalling around R200,000. Cubungu also faces an additional charge of giving benefits to her co-accused, who was a public officer.
According to the charge sheet, Cubungu occasionally did work for the State Attorney’s office as a practising advocate while Zwane, a former legal secretary of the State Attorney’s office, conspired with her to defraud the office.
They are accused of bypassing internal systems to make payments directly into their respective bank accounts. It is alleged that the pair created fake invoices related to inactive case files, claiming payment for legal work that never happened.
They then allegedly forged signatures to approve payment on the fake invoices, effectively bypassing official procedures. Payments into Cubungu’s account ranged between R12,000 and R71,000, which she is said to have shared with Zwane.
Asked about the implications of Cubungu’s arrest on cases she presided over, such as that of Petrus, legal experts say there will be little to no impact on these court matters.
Professor Deon Erasmus, at the Nelson Mandela University’s Criminal and Procedural Law department, said that unless Cubungu’s arrest was directly related to Petrus’s case, it would have no impact on proceedings other than a slight delay.
“In a case where the presiding judge cannot continue with a matter for whatever reason, any other judge of the same division may, after careful consideration of the evidence on record, carry out the sentencing,” Erasmus said. This is in accordance with Section 275 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
“Also bear in mind that the acting judge in this matter is still awaiting trial. No matter the allegations against her, she is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Erasmus said. DM