Johannesburg - The father of former Springbok Bryan Habana was arrested on Monday.
Bernard James Habana was arrested for fraud in relation to a case the police have been investigating for almost five years.
He was brought to Linden police station before later appearing in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court. The court granted him R1 000 bail and his case was postponed to a later date.
A law enforcement official close to the case said Habana had been apprehended after he was alleged to have posed as a travel booking agent.
According to a police official close to the case, Habana was nabbed after investigations implicated him in allegedly pretending to be a travel booking agent.
Police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello said: “The suspect in this matter was arrested today (May 30) and he appeared before the Randburg Magistrate's Court.”
The case was reportedly opened in 2015 and the State would call a number of victims as State witnesses in the case against Habana.
The case was opened at the Linden police station when a woman alleged that she had deposited money into an account belonging to Habana and his girlfriend, identified as Mbalii Mtetwa.
Payments totalling R12 000 were allegedly made into the said account.
In 2015, IOL reported that Habana had been arrested after he was accused of defrauding a Joburg hotel by failing to pay the bill when it was presented to him.
An affidavit by Bryan’s mother, Faith, in court in 2013 revealed how she had to desperately save her Joburg home from a disgruntled Cape Town woman who alleged that Habana had conned her out of R1 million.
Nicola Gross had previously won a court order against Habana to have his moveable assets seized – including furniture and electronic goods – but they netted her only R9 673.
The woman then applied for an order to sell the Victory Park house, jointly owned by Bryan’s parents, who were then married in community of property.
Bryan’s mother, a teacher by profession, successfully argued that the High Court in Joburg should not allow her house to be sold.
No judgment was taken against her
The relationship between Habana senior and his famous son soured after Bryan told the media in 2014 that the reason he had fired his dad from his long-standing role as business manager in 2010 was that he was stealing from him.
@AdonisVusumuzi
IOL