Durban - Bagcinele Cynthia Nzuza, 61, cut a clean and composed figure in the dock of the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday.
She was placed in police custody in the early hours of the same morning before her court appearance where she faced charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, corruption and money laundering.
She was added as accused 18 in the DSW tender scandal case alongside her husband and former mayor Zandile Gumede as well as other senior municipal officials and councillors.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said Bagcinele “allegedly facilitated the fitting of a built-in kitchen at her mother-in-law’s house and one of the service providers implicated in the multimillion-rand solid waste tender allegedly paid R18 000 for the fitting”.
But who is Bagcinele or “Gcina” as she is named on social media?
The 61-year-old is married in community of property to her husband since 1989 and have two sons together that they still support. They live in their Zimbali Coastal Resort home.
She holds two bachelor qualifications, one in education and a second in Library Science but states on her Linkedin profiles she is a Christian spiritual counsellor and according to her Facebook is self-employed.
She is also the sole member of Shunamite Enterprises CC which owns a vegetable farm in Compensation, Kwazulu-natal that was acquired in January.
It provides employment and has a current market value of R2.8 million.
The Nzuzas are joint owners of a Cape Town home worth about R5 million that was acquired in 2015 and was currently being rented out on Air BNB. She is also the director and a 20% shareholder of a company called Site Flash.
She owns three cars, a Lexus, Toyota Prius and a Volkswagon Polo worth a current combined market value of about R350 000. As a couple, they jointly own furniture and immovable assets valued at about R500 000.
However, she alleges that she has a combined gross monthly income of R40 000 and a fluctuating net income after deductibles of about R20 000.
Her parental home, where her 94-year-old father lives, is in Empangeni.
In Bagcinele’s first court appearance she applied for bail which Prosecutor Hazel Siraramen said would not be opposed but asked for it to be set at R50 000, saying she had substantial assets and the means to pay.
Her attorney, Bheki Manyathi, requested bail be set at R15 000 as he was instructed R50 000 would not be affordable because her husband was released on R50 000 bail after his arrest in March and it would cost the household a total R100 000.
Magistrate Dawn Somaroo granted bail of R30 000 on condition that she informed the police at least 48 hours in advance if she intended to leave the province or country and also to report to the police upon her return. She was ordered not to have any contact with anyone who works for supply chain management at the municipality.
She was not deemed a flight risk but handed over her passport and instructed that she could not apply for further travel documents until the conclusion of the case.
The couple will reappear in court on December 10 alongside their co-accused.
The plot thickened on Tuesday in the R430 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) fraud and corruption scandal when Bagcinele, the wife of ethekwini Municipality manager Sipho Nzuza, was made accused number 18.
Sunday Tribune