By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan, along with his two co-accused, appeared at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge, Ekurhuleni, on Tuesday, 10 December.
Jordaan (73) the association’s Chief Financial Officer, Gronnie Hluyo (55) and businessman Trevor Neethling (46) who owns Grit Communications, face charges of fraud and theft.
On Thursday, 5 December, the SAFA boss and his two accused appeared in court, and the case was postponed to allow Jordaan and Hluyo’s lawyer to apply formally to have the matter dismissed.
During last week’s court proceedings, Jordaan and Hluyo’s lawyer, Advocate Norman Arendse, informed magistrate Sheron Soko-Rantao that his clients would be filing a formal Section 342A application.
This application aims to argue that excessive delays warrant dismissing the case against them. Neethling’s legal team has not yet decided whether they will join this application.
The trio was arrested on 13 November following a Hawks investigation into allegations of R1.3 million in fraud and theft.
The state sought to have Arendse, representing Jordaan and Hluyo, recused over conflict of interest.
During the proceedings, State prosecutor Moagi Malebati argued that Arendse’s involvement in a separate case representing Safa created a potential conflict.
“It has also come to the state’s attention that the counsel has appeared in the said matter as recently as the 4th of December 2024, a day before appearing on behalf of accused one and three at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge,” said Malebati.
He further contended that Safa, being both a victim and complainant in the fraud case, was legally distinct from Jordaan and Hluyo, who were implicated as alleged perpetrators.
He cited the Legal Practice Council’s (LPC) code of conduct, which mandates legal practitioners to withdraw from cases where conflicts of interest arise.
“The counsel [Arendse] should have not accepted the brief from the applicants [Jordaan and Hluyo] since he has a relationship with both applicants and Safa which might reasonably compromise his independence,” Malebati stated.
Malebati also noted that a judgment on the separate Safa-related case, in which former vice-president Ria Ledwaba and Solly Mohlabeng had challenged the association’s recent elective congress, was delivered on 5 December, further complicating matters.
In his defence, Arendse dismissed the state’s application as baseless and an attempt to stall the fraud case.
“The code is very clear that legal practitioners, whether advocates or attorneys, that we, as a matter of courtesy, must inform [and] advise one another if there’s an issue which is immediately not apparent from the pleadings that an issue would be raised,” the advocate said.
He accused Malebati of violating the LPC’s code of conduct by failing to inform him in advance about the state’s intentions to raise the conflict issue.
“I had said then and repeat it today that it was intended to embarrass me,” Arendse added.
Magistrate Sheron Soko-Rantao ultimately dismissed the state’s application, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to recuse Arendse.
Soko-Rantao highlighted that the right to legal representation of one’s choice is a constitutional matter that should be addressed in a higher court.
“This court cannot deal with an aspect of a constitutional nature. It has to go to the high court and it can escalate from the high court until the highest court, which is the Constitutional Court,” she explained.
Soko-Rantao also dismissed the Section 342(a) application, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction.
“Applying this section to these proceedings means that the two high court matters which accused one and three are referring to are not in this forum. Whatever that delays this court must pertain to this forum,” she ruled.
All trio members secured R20,000 bail, with the next court date set for 7 February 2025.
Jordaan has faced growing scrutiny amid ongoing allegations of mismanagement and corruption within South African football – but has maintained his innocence and is reportedly seeking a fourth term as Safa president.
Critics of Jordaan have called on him to resign, pointing to the failure of the men’s national team to qualify for a World Cup since 2010 as well as the country’s deteriorating grassroots football infrastructure.