Cape Town – Three suspects had their appeal of bail applications dismissed in the Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Mthatha.
The three leaders of the Public Assets Community-based Tenants and Owners Association (Pactoa) face charges of fraud and theft.
Sicelo Nkqayi, 49, Zamikhaya Songca, 39, and Bongani Cikolo, 44, allegedly invaded properties owned by the Eastern Cape Development Co-operation (ECDC) and claimed monthly rentals amounting to millions of rand from the tenants for their personal use.
According to the provincial spokesperson from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Luxolo Tyali, the trio was arrested on October 10, 2022.
On December 13, 2022, they were denied bail in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court.
The trio approached the high court to appeal against the decision but state prosecutor Thenjwa Sellem convinced the court to confirm the decision of the lower court.
Tyali said the court agreed with the prosecution and was of the opinion the trio had the propensity to commit other offences.
It was revealed that the suspects had communicated with the tenants while in custody.
“It emerged during their bail application that they had circulated WhatsApp messages from custody, telling their members and other tenants to continue paying rent to them for their legal fees,” Tyali said.
“The state submitted that some tenants, now state witnesses, were allegedly coerced into becoming members of Pactoa through violence and were fearful of the organisation.
“It is alleged that between August 2017 and September 2022, Pactoa targeted ECDC-owned residential and commercial properties in and around Mthatha, where they made tenants sign lease agreements with the association and had rentals deposited into their bank accounts.”
The matter was reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in 2019 and the investigation revealed that the ECDC was prejudiced of more than R40 million.
The case against the trio has been postponed until April 28.
IOL