‘He was wrongly acquitted’ – Former ANC MP Bongani Bongo granted R5k bail with conditions

The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court has granted former ANC MP and minister of state security Bongani Bongo bail with conditions.

Bongo appeared in court on Tuesday for a retrial in his corruption case, four years after being acquitted by then-Western Cape High Court judge John Hlophe.

The state did not oppose bail but argued that it should be set with conditions because “we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future”.

“This is a serious case. The state is not opposed to bail; in fact, it believes it is in the interests of justice that the accused be released on bail,” argued the state in court.

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“We have to be proactive. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Yes, he was acquitted, but wrongly acquitted. We don’t see him as a flight risk or someone who would interfere with the witness.

“The accused’s bail conditions should be set so that he does not travel or interfere with the witness. The state’s request for bail conditions is not unreasonable.

“The court should set bail with conditions, including handing over his passport, contacting the investigating officers if he wants to travel and providing the state with the reasons for travel and itinerary. He was wrongly acquitted.”

‘State knows Bongo’

However, his defence lawyer argued bail conditions were unnecessary as this was a second run of the same case. Bongo’s legal representative argued that the state knew he would not violate any bail conditions, just as he did not previously.

“The only imposed conditions, if there is a reason, are none of those matters included in this matter. In the previous case, when bail was set and there were conditions imposed, the court didn’t know who they were dealing with, what would happen, and how it would happen,” argued Bongo’s lawyer.

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“Now we know that this is not a person who will run; he will not interfere with witnesses. The case is finished; it has been investigated. So we are absolutely certain that we are dealing with a person for whom the bail conditions are not called for.”

He was granted bail of R5 000, with the condition that he notify the investigating officer of any changes in his residential address and not interfere with witnesses.

The matter was postponed to 4 March 2025 for docket disclosure and a meeting with the defence.

Bongani Bongo corruption case

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in May last year overturned a February 2021 high court ruling dismissing his bribery and corruption trial.

Impeached judge Hlophe had earlier dismissed Bongo’s case due to a lack of evidence after he had filed a discharge application.

Bongo was accused of trying to bribe evidence leader Ntuthuzelo Vanara in Parliament’s 2017 inquiry probing state capture at Eskom.

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Bongo, a former member of the National Assembly, was formally sworn in as a Member of the Executive and Cabinet as the minister of state security and formally became a member of the National Assembly, a position he occupied until 28 May 2024. He is no longer a Member of Parliament.

All MPs are bound by the Code of Ethics and all other ethical and other obligations and duties arising from the Constitution, the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, No. 4 of 2004, and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (“PRECCA”).

In his 2021 ruling, Hlophe acquitted Bongo, who had pleaded not guilty to two counts of corruption, in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

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Hlophe found Vanara’s evidence against the MP did not implicate him in the crime of corruption, as defined by the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca).

SCA ruling

In a unanimous ruling, the SCA found that Hlophe had “erred” in his assessment of the evidence presented by the state during the trial.

“I am of the view that the trial court made several mistakes of law. I am also satisfied that there are reasonable prospects that the respondent would have been convicted of either the main or alternative charges mentioned in the indictment if the mistakes of law had not been made,” read the judgment written by Judge John Smith.

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“As I explain below, the evidence led by the state, at the very least, constituted prima facie evidence that the respondent had committed the crime of corruption.

“Mr Vanara’s testimony established that the respondent had offered him gratification to induce him to commit a proscribed act, namely, to feign illness in order to delay or collapse a parliamentary committee inquiry.

“In my view, there are reasonable prospects that the evidence led by the state was evidence on which a reasonable court could convict the respondent.”