During cross-examination in the R320 million tender fraud case on Wednesday, a State witness, previously accused of misleading the Durban High Court, requested to clarify his testimony.

The witness, a former manager from eThekwini’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), is testifying against former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused.

On Tuesday, the witness had stated that his first statement to the SAPS was made on December 13, 2018, when he opened a fraud case related to the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender at the Durban Central police station.

However, on Wednesday, he clarified that he had made an earlier, signed statement, commissioned by an SAPS member, which he last saw on the day it was made.

Advocate Jimmy Howse SC, representing the fifth accused, Sandile Ngcobo, questioned if the witness had discussed the matter with anyone overnight to refresh his memory, to which the witness replied no.

The December 13 statement, which led Howse to accuse the witness of misleading the court, indicated that the Integrity Forensic Solutions CC (IFS) was mandated by the CIIU to assist the State in preparing the matter for litigation and concluding legal processes.

The IFS, a forensic company appointed by the CIIU, investigated DSW tender irregularities, leading to charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering against Gumede and her co-accused.

The December 13 statement was commissioned by the Hawks’ lead investigator.

The witness claimed that the suggestion for IFS to assist the State came from a Hawks general, not himself, as the general cited a lack of forensic investigator capacity within the Hawks. The witness agreed, also noting the potential to recover money lost by the eThekwini Municipality.

The witness further clarified that the earlier statement he made did not mention the IFS being mandated to assist the State, and it was the statement that initiated the case docket.

He stated that he received the IFS investigative report for this case around December 12, 2018, and maintained that the December 13 statement was written after he met with the Hawks general. The report itself is dated December 12.

Howse accused the witness of attempting to cover up his previous testimony, stating: “This is a futile attempt by you to cover up what you exposed yesterday (Tuesday).” 

The witness denied lying under oath, replying: “Let me clarify, this is not a cover-up.”

When pressed by Howse, the witness could not recall the exact date of his first statement or when he received the IFS report.

He explained his process: “When I receive a report, I immediately go to open a case. If I received it in the morning, I would open the case on the same day. If I receive it in the afternoon, the following day, I will go and open a case. That is how I work.”

However, he could not specify when he met with the investigating officer or the general between December 12 and 13.

“The point I want to highlight is that I now remember the sequence of events. I cannot recall the dates,” he concluded.

The trial is set to resume in November.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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