Richard Mdluli’s slush fund case delayed as he waits for Legal Aid

The corruption case against former crime intelligence (CI) boss Richard Mdluli and his co-accused has been delayed yet again for the outcome on his internal appeal to Legal Aid South Africa.

Mdluli and his co-accused, former Crime Intelligence supply chain manager Heine Barnard and former Crime Intelligence chief financial officer Solomon Lazarus, appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday, where the trial was meant to start.

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Mdluli, accused of looting the police’s slush fund, applied for legal aid earlier this month after his attorney withdrew from the matter due to a lack of funds.

‘Prejudice’

Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the matter has been postponed to 4 December after his application for legal assistance was denied.

“In dismissing Mdluli’s application, Judge Mudunwazi Makamu agreed with IDAC and highlighted that this matter has been on the court roll for a long time and that it prejudices the other two accused who placed it on record that they are ready to proceed with trial.”

Makamu further indicated that Mdluli’s leave to appeal has uncertainties which may require him to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and the Constitutional Court should the ruling not be in his favour.

Charges

Mdluli, Barnard and Lazarus are facing charges of corruption, fraud and theft relating to the police’s secret slush fund from the time they were employed by the SAPS in the Crime Intelligence Services, between 2008 and 2012.

The charges include alleged payments of private trips to China and Singapore, private use of witness protection houses, conversion of the property for personal use and the leasing of Mdluli’s private residence to the state in order to pay his bond, among other allegations.

Mdluli was jailed for five years for his September 2020 conviction in connection with the kidnapping and assault of Oupa Ramogibe in 1999.  He was released on parole in July 2022 after serving a third of his sentence.

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