The sentencing of corrupt traffic official Rory Petrus was once again postponed in the Gqeberha High Court on Thursday, 4 September 2025. (Photos: Supplied / Facebook) 
The sentencing of a corrupt traffic official suffered yet another bizarre delay in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha on Thursday, 4 September 2025, when the newly assigned presiding officer seemingly forgot he was required to deliver a sentence.
With convicted fraudster Rory Petrus in the dock, attorneys for the State and defence exchanged confused looks when acting judge Mzamo Nobatana handed over to the prosecution to commence with proceedings.
And the court was quickly adjourned for an urgent meeting in chambers when Nobatana was informed that the floor was in fact his to deliver Petrus’ punishment.
Nobatana is the third judge to preside over the matter in which Petrus, 37, a former employee of the Sunday’s River Valley Municipality’s traffic department, was convicted on 50 charges, including fraud, forgery, racketeering and corruption — all linked to issuing bogus learner’s and driver’s licences.
Read More: Corrupt official awaits sentence — while judge awaits fraud trial
He was convicted in January, and since then his case has been impeded by a series of peculiar setbacks. The judge who convicted him, Siphokazi Cubungu, was arrested in May and now awaits trial on fraud and corruption charges.
Despite her arrest, Cubungu’s judgment still stands in terms of Section 275 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and the court had to assign a new judge to deal with sentencing proceedings.
Arrangements were made for Judge Gaynor Appels to handle proceedings, but following the submission of presentencing reports she recused herself, citing a conflict of interest related to one of the reports.
Nobatana is the latest judge to be assigned to Petrus’ matter. At a previous court appearance it was explained that Nobatana would study the court record, the conviction and the reports submitted during sentencing proceedings, allowing him to hand down a sentence on Thursday.
However, as proceedings commenced, Nobatana seemed to think sentencing proceedings were still under way and waited for the opposing legal counsels to finalise their respective cases.
When the misunderstanding became apparent, he adjourned the matter to meet with the attorneys in his chambers. During the adjournment, Petrus stepped out of the dock to take a seat in the public gallery and managed a wry chuckle at the strange turn of events.
When court resumed Nobatana indicated that he was not in a position to deliver a sentence, and the matter was postponed until September 18 for sentencing.
Petrus’ 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 is out on bail.
When it comes to Cubungu, who found Petrus guilty, the State alleges that she, along with her co-accused Dumisani Zwane, bypassed internal controls and court processes, which saw money paid directly into their own private accounts. DM