By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) application for leave to appeal the court order separating the cases of Kabelo Matsepe and Danny Msiza in the VBS Mutual Bank matter.
Matsepe and Msiza face charges, including racketeering, theft, fraud and money laundering, linked to the looting of billions of rands from the VBS.
Both were represented by former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shaun Abrahams.
Abrahams argued that his clients’ applications were based on four key principles: the interests of justice, the right to be informed of and respond to charges, the right to adequately prepare their defenses and to a timely trial, and the right to challenge and present evidence.
High Court Judge Peter Mabuse acknowledged that separating the trials could result in significant delays, potentially postponing the case for up to five years. This aligns with the State’s argument that the accused are attempting to delay the start of the VBS trial.
While the court granted the request for separate trials, the NPA had expressed its intent to appeal against the decision. Former NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga voiced disappointment with the ruling, stating that it would stretch the State’s resources.
The NPA first approached the high court in an attempt to have questions of law reserved for consideration by the SCA under Section 319 of the CPA.
That application was rejected in January 2025.
The NPA subsequently took the matter to the SCA, with the appeal being heard in May 2025.
SCA ruled that the matter failed to satisfy the statutory threshold for a reservation of a question of law under Section 319 and lacked any reasonable prospects of success to warrant appellate review.
The court also found that there was no reasonable prospect that an appeal would succeed if it were allowed to proceed.
The judgment further pointed out that Msiza and Matsepe had not relied on Section 342A of the CPA, which provides for an inquiry into unreasonable delays in criminal proceedings.
Instead, the accused had pursued the separation of their trials.
“We conclude that the application for leave to appeal must be dismissed.”
The outcome will have significant implications not only for the accused, but also for the broader judicial process surrounding one of South Africa’s most notorious financial scandals.
The scandal, which could arguably be branded “The Great Bank Heist”, was exposed in 2018 by advocate Terry Motau, who was appointed to investigate it.
Motau penned a report afterwards that blew the lid off the scandal.
The bank was meant to benefit black people who were looking to borrow money to buy houses, and was started in 1982 by the Venda homeland government.
VBS fraud ringleader and former chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty on 33 counts of corruption, theft, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
Meanwhile the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), a unit within the NPA, confirmed that charges against former commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane and several other accused had been provisionally withdrawn in the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court.
The case stems from a 2016 Saps contract involving the supply of emergency warning equipment.
The contract was valued at just over R191 million, with R65 million paid to Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement, the company that was awarded the contract. Phahlane and his co-accused had been charged with corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering in connection with the contract.
Elsewhere the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomed the High Court judgment dismissing an urgent application brought by Hangwani Maumela that sought to prevent the sale of his assets, including a Ferrari worth R9.5m.
The Ferrari forms part of a wider asset preservation process arising from the SIU’s investigation into alleged corruption and maladministration at Tembisa Hospital.
The SIU said about R2 billion was allegedly looted through procurement processes at the hospital.
The investigation was sparked by information uncovered by the late Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran, who had raised concerns about suspicious payments linked to Tembisa Hospital before she was assassinated in August 2021.