The charges against former ANC Nelson Mandela Bay regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula and nine others were dropped on Thursday in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court.
Various lawyers for the accused filed a section 174 application last year to have the charges dismissed on the basis that the state failed to establish a prima facie case.
Magistrate Vusiwe Mnyani granted Nqakula’s application and found his co-accused — HT Pelatona Projects owner Morne van der Linde, businesspeople Xolani and Nwabisa Masela, Port Alfred businesswoman Nonpumezo Ngotsha and her company Thuthiko Logistics, and former DA councillors Mbulelo Manyathi, Trevor Louw and Neville Higgins — not guilty of all charges.
However, Mnyani ruled that the suspended city manager, Noxolo Nqwazi, and former housing boss Mvuleni Mapu still had a case to answer for.
They are charged with contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act and fraud. The case revolves around the alleged fraud and procurement irregularities in a R24m Covid-19 emergency toilet project.
The Herald
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