Durban - A woman who had been convicted on drug-related charges and later acquitted lost her battle in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to get back her assets, on Tuesday.
Judge Graham Lopes, with two judges concurring, dismissed Joyce Komane’s appeal and confirmed a judgment granting the Asset Forfeiture Unit the authority to seize her assets which included a flat, a house, a vehicle and two businesses: a coffee shop and a boutique.
Judge Lopes agreed with Judge Rishi Seegobin’s findings in granting that order, that she had no legitimate source of income to justify how she had paid for the assets.
In 2009, Komane was found guilty of six charges arising from her association with Ramjini Chetty, 40, dubbed Pietermaritzburg’s “drug queen”.
While the women admitted they were friends, Komane denied she had ever supplied drugs to Chetty. They were tried together and Chetty was convicted of drug dealing and possession, and sentenced to an effective 24-year jail term.
Komane was convicted of supplying Chetty’s enterprise with drugs such as mandrax and cocaine, and sentenced to 12 years. Komane appealed against her conviction in 2011 and won, yet despite her victory the State still managed to seize her assets. Judge Lopes said it had been argued on her behalf during the appeal that there was no link between the alleged criminal activity and the property to be declared forfeit.
Lopes said a link was clearly established in the evidence.
It was also argued that the State had failed to establish that she was involved in the sale of drugs and that there was only hearsay evidence of this.
But the judge said a witness, Lucky Gordon, had directly implicated Komane in an affidavit.
Given the close relationship between Komane and Gordon, it was highly improbable he would have lied about her participation in drug dealing activities.
His evidence was that she had supplied drugs to him and others for resale.
Judge Lopes said that Judge Seegobin had set out factors which he took into account in establishing that the assets, purchased by Komane, could not have been paid for from any legitimate source of income she earned. There was no legitimate source of income, according to the evidence, which could explain how she bought the assets.
He agreed that she was involved in drug dealing between 1998 and 2000 and she acquired assets solely from that income.
The Mercury