Sharika Regchand
JAWS dropped in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday when it was learnt that one of the men standing trial along with three former uMgungundlovu district municipality councillors on fraud and corruption charges had cut a deal and turned State witness.
Wondering where property developer Neville Watts was and why he had not turned up at court yesterday – knowing that the trial was meant to proceed – his six alleged partners in crime were left standing aghast in the dock when prosecutor Rema Mahabeer announced that the charges against him had been withdrawn.
She said Watts had pleaded guilty and had been sentenced last week. Watts had confessed to money laundering and had been fined R50 000, half of which was suspended. He had also been sentenced to two years of correctional supervision.
His co-accused in the matter were former uMgungundlovu councillors Alpha Shelembe, Themba Zungu and Lucky Moloi, Shelembe’s wife Joyful and sister, Nelisiwe Shelembe, and Thembinkosi Xaba, a bodyguard employed by the municipality.
The group are accused of inflating the price of a property that the district municipality had bought in 2003, and pocketing the difference between the set price and the inflated figure.
It is alleged that the sellers of the property, bought by the municipality for office and parking space in 2003, had hired Watts to find prospective buyers. The developer then allegedly approached the councillors and recommended the property to them.
The State alleges that Alpha Shelembe, Zungu and Moloi were instrumental in the negotiations, proposals and approval of the purchase of the property by the council.
The initial price of the building, in central Pietermaritzburg, was R6 million. However, it was negotiated with one of its owners to increase the amount by R1m, with the owners getting their original asking price and the remainder of the money to be shared among the councillors who had “made the deal happen”.
Moloi’s money was allegedly paid into his personal bank account, while Zungu and Shelembe allegedly laundered their portions into several accounts. It was alleged that Xaba had assisted Zungu to launder his money, while the Shelembe women had helped their husband and brother.
Yesterday, when Mahabeer indicated that the State was ready to proceed with the trial, advocate Martin Krog, acting for Zungu and Xaba, reacted with shock.
Unaware
Krog questioned how the trial could proceed when the defence team had not been provided with Watts’s plea statement. They were unaware of the essence of his plea or anything related to it.
Problems with legal representatives also emerged, resulting in the matter being adjourned to September 27.
l Alpha Shelembe also faces an arson charge relating to a fire at the ANC’s offices in Pietermaritzburg on June 11.
A man convicted of arson in the matter had alleged that Shelembe, then the Msunduzi deputy mayor, had hired him to set the fire. Themba Mbona said in his guilty plea that Shelembe had offered him R500 000 and a job if he torched his old office.
Shelembe was charged with arson and released on R3 000 bail. He later resigned both as deputy mayor and ANC regional treasurer.