Corruption-accused uThukela District Municipal Manager Langelihle Jili intends to appeal the outcome of his bail hearing, according to his legal representative, Advocate Paul Jorgensen.

Jili was refused bail in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday (November 3), while his co-accused, Bongumenzi Dlamini (a Durban-based Uber driver) was granted bail of R20,000.

The bail proceedings commenced as an urgent matter on October 27, with judgment only being completed a few minutes before it was handed down in the Durban Regional Court by presiding magistrate, Garth Davis.

Jili and Dlamini both stated that they intend to plead not guilty to the charges they face.

A brief re-cap of the allegations

Thabani Wiseman Mhlanga is a service provider whose company, Wise Security and Training Centre, remains unpaid for two tenders in respect of security services he provided to uThukela District Municipality. It is alleged that Jili demanded that Mhlanga pay him R550,000 before he would authorise the payment due to Wise Security.

Mhlanga reported the matter to the Department of Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) and a trap operation was authorised by the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on October 17. After a few failed attempts to arrange a meeting with Jili, the operation eventually took place at Platrand Lodge on October 21, and was recorded using audio and surveillance equipment.

Jili was arrested at his residence at Platrand and R100,000 in marked ‘trap money’ was retrieved from his vehicle. After his arrest, Jili allegedly offered the arresting officers a bribe of R600,000 in cash if they would ‘make the charges disappear’.

Dlamini delivered the cash to the DPCI offices in a blue Checkers cooler bag, in which the money was packed in batches of R20,000. After receiving the money from Bongumenzi, Jili counted it out in front of the police.

Investigating officer, Warrant Officer Nkosinathi Dlamini of the Serious Corruption Investigation Unit, testified that after verifying there was R600,000 contained in the bag, Jili demanded that he and Bongumenzi be allowed to leave.

During the bail hearing, it was never disputed that Dlamini went to the DPCI offices with R600,000 in cash. The question of how Jili had raised such a large sum of money within just five hours, and where he got the money from, remains unanswered.

During cross-examination of WO Dlamini, Jorgensen asserted that it was the police who sought a R600,000 bribe from Jili, an allegation that WO Dlamini denied. “On the face of it, it shows the lengths the first applicant (Jili) was willing to go to make the first count disappear,” remarked Davis.

In an affidavit he submitted to the court, Jili stated that he is the sole provider for his wife and four children, who depend on him to pay school fees, university tuition, accommodation and subsistence. During the bail proceedings, it emerged that Jili’s wife is a medical doctor. However, Davis noted, in his judgment, that no information was forthcoming as to the extent of her financial contribution to the family.

RASP court case comes back to bite Jili

Jorgensen argued that Mhlanga, who had a default judgment against the municipality, could have attached the property of the municipality to satisfy the judgment. There was therefore no need for him to make a corrupt payment to Jili for something he could easily have achieved through legal means.

Davis pointed out, however, that Jili would have known, from first-hand experience, that satisfying a judgment debt might not be easy to achieve.

As the municipal manger, Jili deposed of the founding affidavit in an urgent application to the High Court in March this year against another municipal service provider, RASP Consultants, in response to RASP’s attempt to attach the municipality’s bank accounts for non-payment.

In the judgment handed down in the RASP matter, the presiding judge, J Jikela, wrote, “Unlike ordinary judgment debtors, municipalities perform constitutionally mandated functions and are entrusted with the delivery of essential public services to the communities within their jurisdiction. The indiscriminate attachment of municipal bank accounts may therefore have far-reaching consequences, including the paralysis of municipal financial operations and the disruption of basic service delivery.”

During Jili’s bail hearing, his counsel argued that Mhlanga could have sought legal recourse to recover his money, but Jili, as the accounting officer, would have known all along that it was not that simple. Davis found Jili’s conduct to be ‘dishonest’ in this context.

IFP directs uThukela mayor to withdraw letter of support for Jili

In support of his application for bail, Jili handed in two letters. The first was a letter from uThukela Mayor Inkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala, who stated that, “As a municipality, we have improved in terms of financial viability. The municipality supports that the municipal manager is innocent until proven guilty and is willing to accept Mr Jili back to work.”

Davis immediately flagged the issues arising from such a letter, pointing out, firstly, that the political head of a municipality should not be involved in matters of administration and, secondly, that if Jili were to be allowed to return to work, it should be by a resolution of council.

“Does the mayor, in law, even have the right to make that decision?” questioned Davis, adding that Jili’s conduct would have had to be assessed by the integrity unit of the municipality, which operated independently of the political leadership of council. Thereafter, a report would need to be presented to the municipality for its decision on whether Jili should be allowed to return to work or not.

“Letters such as this (issued by the mayor) compromise the entire process. Support for someone charged with such offences when there are numerous reports of the allegations and evidence of wrongdoing that we know was in fact recorded, with the utmost respect to the mayor, undermines good governance. It would also send a clear message to whistle-blowers and potential witnesses of what little support they have from the leaders of the organisation,” Davis stated.

Davis said he was disappointed by the attitude of Cllr Shabalala, especially in the context of contract killings linked to the involvement of organised crime in tender awards, and the murders of whistle-blowers and witnesses. “It causes great consternation to those who have had the courage to report malfeasance.”

During the bail proceedings, WO Dlamini had testified that safety is an issue in this case and that he, other police officers and Mhlanga had received threatening phone calls, with Mhlanga reporting that he was followed by a vehicle that did not have licence plates, after Jili was arrested.

The second letter submitted to the court in support of Jili’s application for bail came from CoGTA (Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi, indicating that the department had withdrawn its intervention in uThukela and implying that the performance of the municipality had improved under Jili. “The reality is that the municipality faces significant challenges caused by years of maladministration,” remarked Davis.

In a statement issued by the party on Tuesday night, the IFP stated that Cllr Shabalala has since been directed to immediately withdraw the letter he submitted to the court in support of Jili. IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa acknowledged that the submission of the letter “goes against the principle of good governance.”

The IFP was silent about the letter issued by Buthelezi.

Jili showed complete disregard for the law – says magistrate

On refusing Jili’s bail, Davis expressed concern for the safety of witnesses and whistle-blowers, pointing to the heavy police presence in the courtroom following threats to the police and Mhlanga.

Davis further highlighted that Jili’s past conduct raises concerns about his future conduct.

“In five hours, he raised R600,000 and paid it over to make the case he had been arrested on, caught red-handed, go away,” stated Davis. “The first applicant has shown prima facie a complete disregard for the law and law enforcement.”

On granting Bongumenzi bail, Davis said, “It has not been suggested to me that he is anything other than the ‘courier guy’. He has not directly been implicated in anything else other than the delivery of the money.”

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