Zietta Janse van Rensburg will spend another night behind bars pending the verification of two addresses that the investigating officer told the court she owns.

Zietta and her former father-in-law, Johan Janse van Rensburg, appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court today, April 13, facing charges of theft, fraud and money laundering.

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She was remanded in custody pending her next court appearance tomorrow, when her bail application is expected to be finalised.

Johan’s bail of R10 000, granted on the day of the pair’s arrest on Monday, April 12, was extended, and he was ordered to return to court on May 14 for a possible regional court date.

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During Zietta’s bail application today, investigating officer Richard Mandla Mphepheta told the court that the accused was a flight risk.

Besides the current case, the Hawks were investigating an additional seven cases against her, with a combined value of about R18m.

Mphepheta added that Zietta had failed to disclose to the court that she owns three residences.

“I also believe she is a flight risk because I have been told that she was in the process of selling out her furniture and other goods. Apparently because she intends to flee,” explained Mphepheta.

He said when he arrested her at one of her residences in Malalane on Monday, April 13, he found neatly packed boxes and a big blue bag that indicated she intended to leave.

Marco Lamberti, a Johannesburg-based lawyer representing Zietta, put it to Mphepheta that he was lying in his evidence.

He produced municipal documents showing that the other two residences, both owned by a Van Rensburg, did not belong to Zietta.

Lamberti accused Mphepheta of having failed to investigate the matter properly, despite his many years of experience.

Mphepheta admitted to the court that he had not verified that the other two residences belonged to Zietta.

When reading her affidavit before Magistrate Patrick Morris, Lamberti pointed out that Zietta had no previous convictions. He did confirm that she was facing other charges that were due to be heard in the Tonga Magistrate’s Court from April 20 to 22.

Mphepheta recommended that, if she were to be granted bail, the amount should be at least R200 000.

“I can afford to pay R5 000 in respect of bail. I had to obtain the funds from my father. Together with requesting financial assistance from him to secure the services of my legal representative, I cannot afford to have the funds forfeited due to non-compliance with any inherent conditions of bail or any specific condition the honourable court can deed appropriate to impose,” Zietta’s affidavit read.

The court heard that the charges against the two accused relate to an amount of R14m that a businessman deposited into Johan’s Standard Bank trust account for the purchase of land in Mbombela about five years ago.

Mphepheta said the complainant made the payment after Zietta convinced him that she and Johan, as lawyers, would purchase the stand on his behalf.

“Accused number one (Zietta) deceived my complainant, who ended up not getting the stand until he approached other lawyers to establish what was going on,” Mphepheta told the court.