WATCH | Fraud case against Pule Mabe, co-accused postponed to February 2026

The R27m fraud case against Pule Mabe, his wife Mmatlhekelo and five others has been postponed to February 18 2026 for the state to properly look at the representations that the accused will make.

Mabe, Mmatlhekelo, Loyiso Mkwana, Thandeka Mbassa, Matilda Gasela, Abdullah Ismail and Tinyiko Mahuntsi appeared at Palm Ridge magistrate's court for multiple charges including fraud, theft and money laundering.

The state prosecutor, Magdeline Montwedi-McLean said due to the number of accused on the stand, she would need to take time for all the representations that will be submitted, hence the matter was postponed to next year.

We could have gone on trial and the end of the trial, we could have made a section 174 application. In this instance, we are opting for reps because they belong here,

—  Pule Mabe, former ANC spokesperson

She said she will need sufficient time to consider each presentation.

“As a result of the number of representations expected, and given that I am the only prosecutor handling this matter, I will need sufficient time to consider each one. We do not want to simply gloss over these submissions; they must be given proper attention.

“I have already received the representation from accused 2 (Mbassa), which deals with pre-trial issues that will assist in streamlining the proceedings. The state will consider every representation and ensure that proper responses are provided,” she said.

However, Ismail will be returning to court on November 6 to requests for amendments to be made to his bail conditions.

The charges the accused face stem from an investigation conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Hawks into a tender worth more than R27m that was allegedly unlawfully awarded to Enviro Mobi in March 2017. The company allegedly failed to disclose its links to Mabe during the bidding process.

The tender was for the company to supply 200 three-wheeled waste collection vehicles known as tuk-tuks to assist waste pickers in Ekurhuleni.

The Gauteng department of agriculture, rural development and environment allegedly also paid storage costs of R6m to the company.

Speaking outside court, Mabe said the representations to be made may address multiple issues to the manner in how they proceed with the case.

“I'm a novice and I'm not a legal person but just in terms of just understanding, the reps may choose to address issues of merits, demerit, or it may also be dealing with the issues of law. So my able legal representatives have done the reps as allowed for in law.

“The Criminal Procedures Act as part of the pretrial conditions provide for representations, setting aside of a case or striking a case of the roll. We could have gone on trial and the end of the trial, we could have made a section 174 application. In this instance, we are opting for reps because they belong here,” Mabe said.

He also said that they have made an application to the higher court to deal with the proclamation and the SIU forensic report. The SIU also secured a preservation order that prohibits Mabe from selling or transferring his house in Steyn City as well as his Porsche Carerra. 

“We have got to show the higher court that we have exhausted, available domestic remedies to try and find a resolution on the case. At the same time, we are also putting forward a high court application through senior council Anton Katz to deal one with the proclamation, to also deal with the forensic report. I do not want to speak on what we are dealing with, because doing so would be tantamount to speak into the merits and demerits,” he said.

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