Pretoria specialised court postpones a case of a suspended magistrate
“Nair faces charges of corruption for having received gratification to the value of R200 000.”
The case of suspended Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair was postponed by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday.
The postponement was allowed in order for Nair to make representations on why he should not be prosecuted for corruption based on witness testimony from his misconduct hearing.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), spokesperson Sindiswa Seboka, the postponement followed a request by Nair’s legal representative, Adv. Danie Dorfling.
“Nair faces charges of corruption for having received gratification to the value of R200 000 in security upgrades from African Global Operations / Global Technology Systems (formerly known as BOSASA) in September 2016.
“The upgrades involve an electric fence, an alarm system, perimeter beams, and a CCTV system at Nair’s Pretoria home in Silverton,” Seboka said.
The state alleges that Nair was granted the upgrades for his influence to act in a dishonest, improper, or unlawful manner.
It is said that the security installation installed at his home was in the margin of R200 000 which was done by the controversial company Bosasa.
During the court proceedings state advocate Bheki Manyathi said the representations would be based on the testimony of two State witnesses during Nair’s misconduct hearing, which was held by the Magistrates Commission.
However, Manyathi added that the prosecutor said they still needed to obtain the transcript of the second witness’s testimony, former Bosasa employee Richard le Roux, before making the representations.
The reason the state sought a postponement to November 30th was so that it could tighten up its case against the magistrate.
Nair is accused of accepting a bribe from Bosasa in or near Silverton, Pretoria, in September of 2016 while he was a judicial officer and the chief magistrate of Pretoria.
Nair was implicated by Le Roux during his testimony at the state capture inquiry.
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