Graft case against Thoshan Panday, ex-KZN police chief postponed

The case against former KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni, businessman Thoshan Panday and former South African Police Service (SAPS) officials Ashwin Narainpersad and Navin Madhoe has been postponed to 17 December.

The quartet appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday on multiple counts of corruption related to tender processes around the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate (ID), Sindisiwe Twala, said the postponement was granted so the NPA could obtain a racketeering certificate.

“The case was today postponed to 17 December 2020 to give the Investigating Directorate an opportunity to obtain authorisation from the National Director of Public Prosecutions [NDPP], Shamila Batohi, to bring racketeering charges against the accused. The NDPP had requested that the ID respond to aspects relevant to the case raised in an internal NPA memorandum dated 27 October 2020 by former KZN director of public prosecutions, Advocate Moipone Noko.

“The NDPP will also consider a document purporting to be a nolle prosequi certificate signed by Advocate Noko and presented to the ID’s staff on Monday, 9 November 2020 by Ngobeni’s legal representatives. Ngobeni’s legal representatives contend that the certificate is a bar to the prosecution of Ngobeni.

“The postponement will allow the NDPP sufficient opportunity to consider all issues impacting on the authorisation of a racketeering certificate, including the validity of the nolle prosequi certificate. Once a certificate is issued the ID will serve a racketeering indictment on the accused,” Twala said.

Twala said the corruption charges relate to payments made towards a birthday party for Ngobeni’s husband and a R2 million bribe offered to former Hawks boss Major-General Johan Booysen to subvert the investigation into a R47 million police accommodation fraud scheme by Panday and Madhoe.

Ngobeni further stands accused of failing to disclose the benefits received from Panday, as well as a charge of defeating the administration of justice, Twala added.

Panday was arrested last month by the ID, together with Madhoe who worked in the SAPS’s supply chain management unit.

Panday is out on R100 000 bail while Madhoe is out on a bail of R10 000.

Ngobeni was last month released on bail of R20 000 after having initially being sought by the authorities after she failed to show up at the Durban Magistrate’s Court. Narainpershad was released on bail of R10 000.

Ngobeni and Narainpershad also face further allegations of subsequent attempts to bribe a police officer.

The businessman allegedly ostensibly set himself up as a middleman to secure accommodation for thousands of police officers deployed for the World Cup, with Madhoe and Narainpersha allegedly assisting him.

Compiled by Makhosandile Zulu

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