Two former top police officers facing charges of corruption suffered contrasting fates in North and South Gauteng High Courts.
Retired Lieutenant-General Ramahlapi Johannes Mokwena, formerly divisional commissioner of supply chain management at the SA Police Service (SAPS), succeeded in accessing part of his frozen funds to pay for his legal representative’s services as well as his daughter’s university fees.
South Gauteng High Court Judge Moleboheng Mdalana-Mayisela has authorised the curator bonis, Richard Masoanganye of Bombani Liquidators and Trustees CC to release an amount of R378 312.26 from Mokwena’s Sindane Trust Fund to settle his (Mokwena’s) legal expenses.
Additionally, Masoanganye was ordered to release an amount of R106 428.01 from Sindane Trust Fund to settle Mokwena’s daughter’s tertiary education fees.
Judge Mdalana-Mayisela also ordered that the payment be made to his lawyers AJ Venter & Associates within seven days of the ruling handed down on September 30.
In her response to Mokwena’s application, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said failed to satisfy the court that it has the authority to order the release of funds from the restrained property of the trust for his legal or living expenses.
According to Batohi, Mokwena has failed to satisfy the court that the requested legal and living expenses are reasonable or that he cannot meet same from his unrestrained property and that he also failed to satisfy the court that his daughter’s tertiary education fees are due and payable by him and that same are living expenses as contemplated by the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
Mokwena told the high court that he receives a net income of R2 266 monthly from Metropolitan retirement annuity and R45 335.70 a month from the Government Employee Pension Fund and that his expenditure comes up to an amount of R40 805.00.
After deducting the expenditure, he is left with an amount of R6 796 which he utilizes for miscellaneous and ad hoc expenses.
His expenditure includes R10 000 which he pays monthly to his attorney of record towards counsel’s fees in the pending criminal trial.
Mokwena’s legal team has estimated the legal fees for the criminal trial will be R1.5 million, which he cannot afford to pay the estimated criminal trial expenses at once.
He has arranged with his legal team to pay an amount of R10 000 monthly towards the estimated legal expenses which he has paying the said amount since 2018.
He is also a member of Legalwise legal insurance, for which pays for the appearance of his attorney in the magistrate court.
Legalwise does not cover counsel fees because the criminal trial is heard in the magistrate court.
Mokwena faces charges of fraud, corruption, theft and money laundering relating to a R56m tender fraud related to the marking of police vehicles former section head of procurement Brigadier James Ramanjalum, commander of Point police station Brigadier Jabez Naidoo, section head for mechanical services Brigadier Lesetja Mogotlane, section commander of vehicles and tactical equipment Colonel Dumisani Marima, Lieutenant-Colonel Veeran Naipal and Lieutenant-Colonel Alpheus Makhetha
Other accused in the matter include chief provincial administration clerk for the new vehicle store in the Western Cape Jacoba Magadela Havenga, chief provisioning clerk Marcell Duan Marney, Krishna Chetty, Kishene Chetty, Lorrette Joubert, Maricha Joubert, Kumarasen Prithviraj and Volan Prithviraj.
Naidoo, Mogotlane, Marima, Naipal, Makhetha, Havenga and Marney were fired from the SAPS in 2020 for their alleged involvement in corruption.
In another case, former police crime intelligence Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli is seeking an order to review, set aside and correct the decision taken by the SAPS in January 2022.
The SAPS refused to provide legal representation to Mdluli at state expense.
Mdluli later approached the North Gauteng High Court Judge Sulet Potterill dismissed his application with costs on September 20.
Mdluli faces fraud, corruption and money laundering charges relating to the abuse of the police’s secret slush fund from the time they were employed by the SAPS in the Crime Intelligence Services, between 2008 and 2012 alongside former SAPS head of supply chain management Heine Barnard and former crime intelligence chief financial officer Solomon Lazarus.
Sunday Independent
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