Zandile Gumede's R320 million fraud trial: Court demands police diaries
Omphile Thabang CC demands police diaries in a high-stakes legal battle at the Durban High Court, as the R320 million fraud trial involving former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede unfolds..
Image: Tumi Pakkies / Independent Newspapers
A COMPANY implicated in the alleged R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud alongside former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has formally requested that prosecutors provide the personal diaries or pocketbooks of all police officers involved in the investigation.
This demand was made by Omphile Thabang CC, owned by the accused couple Bongani and Khoboso Dlomo, during an application heard earlier this week at the Durban High Court. The application was presided over by Judge Sanele Hlatshwayo, who has reserved judgment on the matter.
The two-day legal proceedings centred on the defence's insistence on comprehensive access to investigation files. In addition to the police officers’ pocketbooks, the defence sought minutes from all meetings involving the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Integrity Forensic Solution (IFS), and the SAPS Clean Audit Task Team.
The defence argued for access to all documents that could shed light on how the R320 million fraud case was constructed against Gumede and her 21 co-accused.
Advocate Graham Kerr-Phillip, representing the Dlomos and their company, emphasised the importance of these documents. He contended that they could provide essential evidence needed to challenge the search and seizure operations currently under scrutiny in a separate trial-within-a-trial concerning the properties of the accused companies.
Kerr-Phillip asserted that an accused person's entitlement extends beyond witness statements to "all documents that might be important for the accused to adduce and challenge evidence properly."
The defence cautioned that proceeding without access to these documents could lead to incurable prejudice, violating the Constitution and the accused's right to a fair trial.
Conversely, the prosecution argued that the requested documents are not evidence, are irrelevant to preparing the defence, and are legally privileged. They stated that the defence had failed to demonstrate how these documents would assist in their trial preparation or how their right to a fair trial necessitated their disclosure.
In an affidavit prepared by one of the investigating officers, Lieutenant Colonel Willem Van Den Berg argued that the documents sought constituted a police investigation and that there is a need for the State to protect the methods of police investigation.
Lieutenant Van Den Berg highlighted that the investigation of the main case originated from an anonymous whistleblower. He further submitted that police investigative methods must be safeguarded, and the identity of a whistleblower or informer is privileged and should remain protected.
Van Den Berg concluded that the application should be dismissed. The main trial is scheduled to resume on Monday at the Durban High Court. However, a trial-within-a-trial regarding the seizure of former city manager Sipho Nzuza's cellphone will proceed.