In asking the Durban High Court to compel the State to make annexures and reports available in the fraud case of the former mayor of eThekwini municipality Zandile Gumede, the defence said the investigation against Gumede was politically motivated.
Gumede and 21 others are on trial for money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act relating to the Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender of R300 million.
The court has heard the evidence of a State witness from the Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), an investigation unit within the municipality that appointed the Integrity Forensic Solutions CC (IFS) to investigate the DSW tender irregularities after receiving a stack of documents anonymously.
After the completion of the IFS investigation, the matter was handed over to the Hawks, and arrests were made.
During the hearing for the request on Friday, advocate Jay Naidoo, counsel for Gumede, said the CIIU appointed the IFS without following the Supply Chain Management protocols.
“The entire investigation was politically motivated and premature.”
He said the investigation was manipulated and reminded that a State witness during cross-examination admitted that she was influenced during the investigation by an investigator from IFS.
Senior counsel advocate Jimmy Howse said the CIIU appointed IFS based on allegations. “The point is IFS appointment was purposefully premature,” Howse added.
But, Judge Sharmaine Balton said she was concerned about this application because it was civil.
“The matter before me is a criminal case,” she said.
However, Howse said the application arose from what had transpired in the criminal case (the trial).
Both counsels also reminded the court that a former CIIU senior official had led evidence on how IFS was appointed and he was cross-examined on it.
Naidoo explained to the court that there was a whistle-blower’s report about the appointment of IFS, corruption, fraud, and procurement non-compliance.
As a result, there was an investigation by Masama Consulting, which issued a report after that. A CIIU senior investigator was dismissed after the report. That is the report and annexures that they want the court to compel the State to have in court so they could cross-examine witnesses on it, including the dismissed CIIU investigator.
Additionally, Masama was instructed by the city to investigate how IFS invoices were approved and paid without them rendering any services. This report recommended that criminal cases be registered against officials of the CIIU, IFS, and some officials of the municipality.
“Has this report had any legal challenges?” asked Balton.
Naidoo said they had no knowledge of it but if there is, they would like to know.
Senior counsel appointed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), advocate Viwe Notshe, said the State opposed the application as it was not relevant to the criminal trial.
“This report is not part of our docket,” he said.
Balton stated the report arose late.
Notshe added that the report was inadmissible and said the State did not have it.
Balton reserved her ruling on this application for a date that is yet to be decided. The criminal trial will proceed in May.