Two weeks after being stripped of all their luxury houses, cars, cash and other possessions, six senior officials of the Department of Public Works got yet another bloody nose in court.
On Friday, August 2, six of the accused, whose property and cash were confiscated by the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Special Investigations Unit, brought an urgent application to the Mpumalanga High Court to have their property returned.
In a well-planned and executed operation, more than R52.6m’s worth of properties, vehicles and bank accounts have been seized, following a two-year-long investigation into Covid-19-related scams involving the purchase of PPE equipment and services.
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On the said Friday, the applicants, Macdonald Sigudla, Dorries Mbatha, Bandile Ngcobo, Godisamang Molotsane and Sipho Monareng, submitted to the court that their bank accounts should be unfrozen as they need access to their funds to look after their families.
Some also said they are stuck without transport to go to work or to get their children to school. They also claimed they were not involved in any criminal matters.
“The urgent application of the six defendants was struck off the roll with costs on a party-and-party scale for the NDPP [National Director of Public Prosecutions] that they must pay jointly and severally.”
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On Tuesday, August 6, Kobus Mkhabela tried to file a similar claim, but Judge Henk Roelofse cracked the whip and struck the case off the urgent roll. He said it is clear Mkhabela had not prepared properly for an urgent application.
The court also granted a cost order in favour of the NDPP.
