Cape Town – Former Orlando Pirates soccer team manager Ramakhange Setshedi appeared on fraud charges in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday.
The matter was postponed because Setshedi's lawyer failed to turn up.
Setshedi will be back in court on Friday. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud.
Prosecutor Louis van Niekerk, alleges that Setshedi attempted to “fix” two soccer matches at the 2011 Vodacom Tournament.
At the time, Setshedi was involved with the Mpumalanga Sevutsa Stars, which club was seeking promotion to the national first league in the Vodacom Promotional League Tournament.
It is alleged that he wanted to give the referee a R6000 bribe for the Sevutsa Stars to win.
According to the charge sheet, a police undercover operation was then set up. A police official, posing as the referee, met Setshedi in a hotel room.
Setshedi was arrested in the room after allegedly giving him the bribe money.
On two previous occasions, Setshedi was absent from court. A medical certificate from a psychiatrist was seen by the prosecutor, providing reasons for his absence.
The reasons were not disclosed in court.
Van Niekerk said he rejected the “validity of the reasons” and wanted the court to rule on this on Friday.
Magistrate Amrith Chabillal warned Setshedi to be in court on Friday with his legal representative to present the medical certificate to the court. – Sapa