By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The corruption case against former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her co-accused has been postponed to 2022.
Gumede and her 21 co-accused briefly appeared at the Durban High Court in KwaZulu-Natal for pre-trial proceedings on Tuesday.
The accused face 2,793 counts of fraud, corruption,racketeering and the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) linked to the Durban Solid Waste (DSW) contract amounting to more than R430 million.
The former mayor and others are accused of colluding with corporate entities and others to circumvent the outcome of the supply-chain management protocols of the municipality.
Her co-accused include former eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza, former supply-chain manager Sandile Ngcobo, and ANC councillor Mondli Mthembu, as well as five private entities.
The postponement was, in part, as a result of Gumede’s legal representative advocate Jay Naidoo having suggested that the high profile corruption, money laundering and racketeering case be set from July to September 2022.
The news was met with great displeasure by Gumede’s supporters, who, despite her legal team motivating for a trial date starting in July next year, accused the State of not having a solid case against her hence the numerous postponements.
Speaking to the media outside the Durban High Court, staunch Gumede ally, Nkosentsha Shezi, questioned why the public and some media houses were denied entry into the court room.
He accused the NPA of “being used like a gangster” to target people who the current ANC leadership did not consider as allies.
The spokesperson of the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) in KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Kara, said despite this postponement, the July-September 2022 date to hear oral evidence of the case would likely not be affected.
“So today when we resumed the matter in court the State did put on record that we have received the previous particulars requests (for information) and we have acceded to those and we have responded to those and we did put it on record that we are ready for trial.
However, during the proceedings, we found that further legal representations now require requests for further particulars as well. So, given that and obviously, these are pre-trial issues that need to be ironed before we could proceed to trial.”