MBOMBELA – The local court’s roll is too full to accommodate the corruption trial which was scheduled to commence in the Regional Court on Monday.
Mr Sam Ngubane, a director of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), who faces a charge of corruption, was scheduled to face trial yesterday and today.
He is charged along with his wife Ms Angel Ngubane and two businessmen, Mr Edwin Mkhabela and Mr Cleopas Mahlalela of Takitsi Trading. They are charged with corruption relating to a tender that was awarded to Takitsi while Ngubane was acting head of Cogta. The company was allegedly awarded a tender for cleaning water in exchange for an apartment for the Ngubanes worth R1,5 million at the coast.
They are currently out on bail. The accused were arrested in October 2013, and due to the case being postponed yesterday, the magistrate, Ms Vanessa Joubert said she would not be able to reschedule the trial before the end of the year.
The prosecution requested that the case be postponed because the prosecutor Adv Patrick Nkuna, had to write exams and was unable to proceed with the matter.
While the Ngubanes’ defence objected to the postponement, Joubert granted it.
Mr Coert Jordaan, representing Mkhabela and Mahlalela, said the prosecutor had let him know to postpone the trial until sometime in December or later. Jordaan said he was busy until then and had only a few days a month available until February.
Joubert said she thought she could accommodate the trial after February 20.
Instead, it was eventually agreed upon to postpone the date provisionally until October 10, when the trial date would be determined.
