The corruption trial of eThekwini’s former mayor, Zandile Gumede, and her 21 co-accused, relating to a R320 million Durban Solid Waste tender, was adjourned two days early.

The session, originally scheduled to conclude on Friday, was cut short to allow one of the co-accused to attend his grandmother’s funeral.

The State expressed dissatisfaction with the delay, arguing that the trial had already been impacted on the previous Friday because Sandile Ngcobo, the fifth accused and former deputy head of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in eThekwini, could not attend court due to his grandmother’s passing on Thursday night.

The proceedings were concluded on Wednesday.

When Ngcobo’s lawyer, advocate Jimmy Howse SC, requested the postponement, State prosecutor advocate Reshma Athmaram opposed it. Howse sought a postponement for both Thursday and Friday to accommodate the funeral and subsequent traditional ceremonies. 

However, Athmaram argued that the case was already delayed on Friday because of Ngcobo.

“We made our position clear when there was a request last week. It was in Ngcobo’s hands when the funeral would be. As we have been told, he is the head of the family. He ought to have known that these two dates are court dates,” Athmaram stated, suggesting the funeral could have been held over the weekend.

Howse maintained that his client should be allowed to bury his grandmother on these days, explaining that the decision for the funeral was a collective one, not solely Ngcobo’s.

“It was a collective decision to have the funeral on Thursday. The accused also sympathises with him,” Howse said, urging the court to rule in his favour.

Judge Sharmaine Balton acknowledged that unforeseen circumstances, from either the State or defence, were likely to arise as the case progressed.

“The point I am making is that adjournments would be asked for various reasons,” she noted.

The judge granted the postponement. The trial is now expected to resume in early November for the continuation of the cross-examination of the former senior manager of eThekwini’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU). 

The court heard testimony from the former manager detailing how the CIIU received a complaint concerning irregularities in a DSW tender. This led to the opening of a case with the South African Police Service (SAPS), and subsequently, the accused were charged with racketeering, fraud, money laundering, and corruption in relation to the tender.

Currently, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has appointed two lawyers to assist them in this case. They appointed senior counsel advocate Viwe Notshe and advocate Athmaram.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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