Top cop Mills to get day in court

EASTERN Cape SAPS communications boss Brigadier Marinda Mills and her co-accused will finally have their day in court when their fraud trial starts on June 19 this year.

Mills, SAPS music band instructor Lieutenant-Colonel Nicole Brown and civilian Keith Essau appeared in the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday on fraud charges.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Tshepo Ndwalaza confirmed that a trial date had been set for June 19.

Ndwalaza said all the accused appeared before Magistrate James Fritz yesterday.

Mills was arrested and released on warning in December 2015 after allegedly signing off on a fraudulent travel claim submitted by Brown.

Brown is accused of submitting a travel claim of R3 553.70 for a trip to Pretoria that never took place.

Mills, who was her direct supervisor, allegedly approved the claim knowing it was fraudulent, according to the state’s case.

The court papers claim that Essau, a member of the public, instead undertook the SAPS-funded trip disguised as a “Mr Brown” from SAPS.

The three are accused of fraud, forgery and uttering (passing on forged material with the intent to commit fraud).

In August last year an internal SAPS disciplinary committee found Mills guilty of negligently signing a travel claim without first verifying its legitimacy in contravention of Public Finance Management Act regulations.

Mills retained her R60 000 a month post despite being found guilty.

Brown had also submitted two invoices from Morningside City Lodge, both dated five months after the fake trip had taken place, according to court papers.

It is alleged that Brown booked a room at the Morningside City Lodge in Sandton on March 15 2013 under a fake name – Lieutenant-Colonel Hoey – for the stay of Mr N Brown.

The charge sheet states that an occurrence book of the music band offices at Bulembu shows that both Mills and Brown were together at the time of the trip on March 14. —