WATCH: Bulldog Nel spotlights Koko’s case at seminar
Overzealous prosecution leaves state with egg on face.
The R2 billion case involving former Eskom boss Matshela Koko and local lawyer Chris Coetzee came under the spotlight on Friday during a newspaper seminar at Olifants River Lodge.
@middelburgobserver Video 5 – Afriforum’s Private Prosecution Unit Head Advocate Gerrie Nel, addresses journalists during Friday’s No Guts, No Glory annual seminar at Olifants River Lodge. Nel said that South Africa’s criminal justice system has collapsed, and that community journalists play an important part in ensuring that crimes are prosecuted.
Advocate Gerrie Nel said during his presentation on the “collapsed criminal justice system” you don’t arrest a person and then investigate the matter.
The multi-billion rand Eskom fraud, corruption and money laundering case against Koko and others has been struck from the district court roll after Magistrate Stanley Jacobs found that the state was unreasonably delaying the matter to go to trial, with insisting on another postponement to finalise the docket and indictments.
@middelburgobserver Video 4 – Afriforum’s Private Prosecution Unit Head Advocate Gerrie Nel, addresses journalists during Friday’s No Guts, No Glory annual seminar at Olifants River Lodge. Nel said that South Africa’s criminal justice system has collapsed, and that community journalists play an important part in ensuring that crimes are prosecuted.
Magistrate Jacobs ruled that the matter may only be re-enrolled upon written instruction by the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
In all, the eighteen accused, including Mr Koko’s wife Mosima and daughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma, as well as local attorney Chris Coetzee, among others, faced 252 preliminary charges, as well as possible indictments for racketeering.
