The Bloemfontein High Court on Monday heard in detail how thousands of rand had been spent on corporations and companies associated with former Mangaung mayor Pappie Mokoena, his wife Granny and associates.
Judge Albert Kruger was listening to state witness Cornelius Fourie of KPMG's forensic department testifying on a 605-page report into the financial affairs of the Mangaung Local Municipality (MLM) between 1999 and 2005.
Mokoena and co-accused face a total of 259 charges, including theft, corruption and money laundering involving an estimated R130-million.
The case follows an investigation by the now-disbanded Scorpions into the Mangaung Local Municipality.
The accused include former municipal manager Mojalefa Matlole, former municipal speaker Zongezile Zumane, former business manager Mzwandile Silwana, and Jakes Thithi, a political adviser to the former major.
The other accused are Silwana's wife Brigitte, Evodia Kok (Zumane's personal assistant), Laetitia Hoffman (Mokoena's personal assistant), Buyelwa Khethelo, a businesswoman from Rocklands, and two Heidedal businessmen, Keabecoe and Kegomodicoe Lekone.
Not all the accused face all the charges.
On Monday, Fourie started testifying on some 30 suspected transactions, mostly for catering services, allegedly involving Evodia Kok who used her domestic worker's name, through entities, to cater for food prepared by her mother.
Fourie also testified to transactions, identified by the Scorpions investigators, involving catering, development, and construction companies or corporations as well as service entities in which Mokoena, his wife Granny, or family members were members of.
The court heard that in most cases Mokoena allegedly failed to declare direct or indirect interests, in time, to the municipality's council when tenders were awarded.
The report mentions an episode in which Mokoena was asked to declare his wife's interest in a private service provider and the former mayor reportedly said it was difficult "to keep track of her doings".
It was expected that Fourie would spend the rest of November in the witness stand, which would include cross-examination by the defence.
The matter was postponed to Wednesday to give one of the accused, former Mangaung municipal manager Mojalefa Matlole, time to deliver a report to a parliamentary committee in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Matlole was recently appointed the administrator of the Ngaka Modiri Molema district municipality in North West and needs to report to the parliamentary committee on the matter.
The case continues. - Sapa