Former Proteas batsman Gulam Body has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a match-fixing scandal, which rocked South African cricket in 2015.
The 40-year-old had pleaded guilty to eight counts of corruption in 2018, admitting to being a link between players – mostly his teammates at the Lions – and bookies during the 2015 Ram Slam T20 competition.
Bodi, who played two ODIs and one T20I, was charged under the Act after being banned by Cricket South Arica for 20 years for his role in the 2015 Ram Slam T20 scandal. The CSA, however, said none of the fixtures were affected by fixing after the plans to fix matches were foiled.
He was initially banned from all cricket-related activities for 20 years, while the other players involved – Jean Symes, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Pumelela Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati and Thami Tsolekile – also received suspensions which effectively ended their playing careers.
According to reports, the 40-year-old pleaded guilty to eight counts of corruption relating to sporting activities, and begged the court for mercy after he was told he could be jailed for as many as 15 years. The sentencing was delayed on several occasions – at one point because his lawyer withdrew from the case due to Bodi’s lack of funds.
The report further said that according to court documents, Bodi had been approached by Indian “bookmakers” as early as 2014.
Bodi’s prison sentence is the highest sanction received by a South African sports personality in relation with match-fixing.
His scandal followed some 15 years after the high-profile one involving late former Proteas captain, Hansie Cronje, who was handed a life-long ban for his actions, but escaped criminal prosecution.
