Johannesburg - The trial of fraud and corruption against the former mayor JB Marks Local Municipality, Kgotso Khumalo, was postponed in the Potchefstroom Regional Court due to his ill-health.
The trial was postponed in Khumalo’s absence and a medical certificate was submitted to the prosecutor in court as proof of his inability to attend the trial.
The matter against Khumalo and two other accused is now scheduled to be heard on April 7. The three are out on a warning and they were cautioned not to interfere with the state witnesses. The trio are facing eight charges of theft and fraud from the municipality funds and they have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them.
North West National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said It was alleged that the North West University and the Programme for Community Development paid millions into a trust account belonging to Willem Coetzee’s law firm for the use of specific projects by the municipality.
Mamothame said the attorney was then given instructions to effect various payments, including a R208 000 mayoral committee contribution, towards the funeral of MEC for Agriculture, Duma Ndleleni, who died on November 23, 2018.
He said on October 12, 2021, the state led its evidence in chief by its key witness Willem Coetzee, who was introduced to the court as an attorney from Willem Coetzee Attorneys, a law firm that was a member of a panel of attorneys appointed by the JB Marks Local Municipality to manage its legal and financial mandates through a trust fund.
He testified that the accused instructed him, as the acting chairperson of the panel, to make payments into several accounts on different occasions. Coetzee told the court he was also instructed to pay two amounts of R35 000 to Kagisano Funerals, for the same funeral to which the funeral parlour alleges was never received. A further R32 000 was allegedly paid to Roche Trading for a service rendered at the funeral.
An amount of R210 000 was also highlighted as a form of payment to a law firm, Langford and Sons Projects (PTY) Ltd for an Australian football tour.
It was, however, discovered that R200 000 was paid directly into the account of one of the accused, from this amount, R64 218 was paid to an institution where Khumalo’s relative was a student.
Coetzee also testified how Khumalo instructed him to pay two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) an amount of R50 000 each, which was a loan that would be paid back. He was later given a different account to which he transferred an amount of R100 000, instead of the R50 000 to each NGO. Coetzee told the court that he has since ceased being a member of the panel following investigations into this case.
Coetzee is expected to undergo cross-examination from the defence team on his evidence when the trial commences.
The state intends to call more witnesses to prove that false invoices were generated, to effect more fictitious payments in the process of defrauding and stealing money meant for community development in the JB Marks Local Municipality.
Political Bureau