From left: Zwelakhe Hlophe, Siyabonga Bhengu, Nofezile Mhlanga, Maria Gevers, Amita Badul, and Duduzile Chiliza.
Nkosikhona Duma
- A multimillion-rand corruption case was moved to the KZN Division of the High Court in Durban.
- It was adjourned to 6 November.
- The matter relates to the embezzlement of R37 million from the Umhlathuze Water Board.
The Umhlathuze Water Board fraud, corruption and money laundering case, which involves Nonhlanhla Mkhize, the director-general in the KwaZulu-Natal premier’s office, as well as others at the water entity, was moved to the high court.
Mkhize, together with the former chief executive officer of the Umhlathuze Water Board, Mthokozisi Duze, and a prominent Durban attorney, Ralph Mhlanga, will make their next appearance in the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Durban on 6 November.
Mkhize, Duze and Mhlanga, together with 12 other co-accused, appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday before the magistrate, Dawn Soomaroo.
The State prosecutor, Reenai Ramouthar, handed a 99-page indictment to the defence.
Defence lawyers, acting on behalf of the accused, took issue with the prosecution team for delaying their arrival to court for close to an hour, without informing the magistrate.
Advocate Griffiths Madonsela, acting on behalf of Mkhize, went as far as calling for the matter to be struck off the roll.
KZN Premier’s Office Director-General Nonhlanhla Mkhize.
However, upon arrival, Ramouthar explained that their printing system had been hacked. When they found a proper printing machine to use, load shedding delayed the process, which caused them to arrive late.
The defence rejected the State’s reasons, but Soomaroo allowed the matter to proceed.
The indictment
The indictment, which News24 has seen, places Duze and Mhlanga at the top of a corruption ring which siphoned millions of rand from the Umhlathuze Water Board between 29 March 2019 and 14 October 2020.
The State named Mhlanga as “Duze’s money laundering conduit”.
It is alleged that Duze, together with the former CFO of the Umhlathuze Water Board, Babongile Mnyandu, worked jointly to illegally circumvent tender processes to benefit Mhlanga, who pocketed more than R30 million from a R37 million legal services contract.
Mhlanga is alleged to have then channelled the funds to Duze’s benefactors, among others.
READ | Six more arrested in Mhlathuze Water Board corruption case
Mkhize allegedly sent Siphiwe Mabaso, another accused, to the home of the water board chairperson, under “false utterances”, following the finalisation of a report that implicated Mhlanga and Duze.
The chairperson was only person of the entity in possession of the report at the time.
It is alleged that Mabaso threatened the chairperson and left her home with a copy of the report.
“Shortly thereafter, [Mhlanga] wrote an email to the board, claiming in the email, among other things, that he now had a copy of the report implicating him,” the State’s indictment reads.
.
