Fixing kingpin Gulam Bodi and six others lie in wait for prison sentences

The former South African ODI batsman Gulam Bodi is likely to be sentenced prison for being the ‘middleman’ in the domestic match-fixing scandal in 2015. Along with him, the likes of Alviro Petersen, Thami Tsolekile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Jean Symes, Pumi Matshikwe and Ethy Mbhalati will also undergo similar punishment for their wrongdoings.

In January 2016, Bodi was banned by Cricket South Africa (CSA) for as many as 20 years for being part of the match-fixing during the 2015 edition of Ram Slam T20 Challenge. Moreover, four others were also banned for violating CSA’s Anti-Corruption Code. They also received heavy suspensions from the cricket board. While Tsolekile and Symes were banned for 12 and years respectively, Mbahalati and Matshikwe suffered 10 years of suspension.

Nine charges on Bodi

According to the reports in South African media, Gulam Bodi appeared Pretoria’s Commercial Crimes Court on Friday on nine charges of corruption. However, he was also released on R 3000 bail until his next court appearance on August 22. He was charged under ‘The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act’ which is the primary law governing Anti-Bribery and Corruption prevention and enforcement in the rainbow nation.

The sources close to the investigation said that Bodi would not be singled out for the prison sentence in this case and all others involved will also suffer. “I think it very likely that they exercise their jurisdiction and that they pursue charges against the other implicated players. Bodi’s legal team will justifiably point out that it is prejudicial to single him out, so I think they’ll go after all of them if they’ve invested this much,” a source said according to Cricbuzz.

There is also a possibility of Bodi becoming a state witness thereby softening his sentence as they need someone to come forward with the evidence and after being actively involved, the 39-year-old is the most likely candidate.

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