Durban - The ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal deputy chairperson, Mike Mabuyakhulu, appeared briefly in the Commercial Crimes Court this morning before his case was postponed to February 1, next year.
The National Prosecuting Authority said the adjournment was to allow for the other accused to file their requests for further particulars of the case.
Mabuyakhulu has already filed the request for further particulars on the charges against him and his lawyer had indicated that once received the particulars were to form the basis for an application to have Mabuyakhulu’s trial separated from those of the other co-accused.
At the previous court appearance in August, Mabuyakhulu’s lawyer, Jimmy Howse, had argued that a lengthy trial was going to be prejudicial to his client.
The charges against Mabuyakhulu and 15 others stem from R28 million which the KZN government paid out in 2012 for a jazz festival that never took place.
The transaction happened while Mike Mabuyakhulu was the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs.
Mabuyakhulu, who faces charges of corruption and money laundering, is accused of having pocketed R300 000 from the alleged corruption.
The money, the State says, ended up being channeled into various accounts belonging to a range of business people, their companies and politicians including Mabuyakhulu and 15 co-accused.