The state has added charges of racketeering in the R320m tender scandal involving controversial former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and 21 others.
The indictment revealed that seven counts of racketeering had been added. The accused also face charges of fraud, corruption, fraud by omission, contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act, contravention of the Organised Crime Act and contravention of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act.
Gumede and her co-accused appeared in the Durban high court on Monday for a pretrial hearing.
The matter was postponed to November to allow the state to furnish the defence with further information in light of the amended indictment that lists Gumede as accused No 1.
Former executive committee (executive committee) councillor Mondli Mthembu is accused No 2, while former municipal manager Sipho Nzuza is accused No 3. The trial has been earmarked to start in July next year.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Natasha Ramkisson confirmed the new racketeering charges but did not give further details.
The indictment list racketeering as the first count and alleges that all the accused formed an “enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity” and used, received or retained “property derived from racketeering activity”.
According to the state, the municipality officials, including Gumede and other councillors, colluded with private businesses Langa La Mahlase, Uzuzinekele Trading, Omphile Thabang Projects, Umvuyo Holdings and EL Shaddai Holdings Group, owned by accused No 19 Prabagaran Pariah, to loot the municipality between December 2017 and July 2019.
It’s alleged that municipal officials used their influence to manipulate the Durban Waste Contracts (DWC) by coming up with a new DWC classified as “special projects” to benefit the five companies associated with them.
These companies were paid R321m.
Its alleged that Gumede used some of the money she received in kickbacks to visits optometrists, pay for repairs to her car, bought airtime worth R43,600 for her phone and used some of it to buy bricks.
It’s also alleged that she received R824,000 from Ilanga, which got R89m worth of tenders. According to the indictment telephone records also linked Gumede to the directors of some of the companies.
The indictment also suggested that Gumede paid individuals linked to the so-called Radical Economic Transformation forum, which would eventually gain her political protection.
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