Sizani fights for magistrate to step down

PORTIA “Pankie” Sizani, wife of South Africa’s ambassador to Germany Stone Sizani, yesterday resorted to the Grahamstown High Court in a bid to review a magistrate’s decision not to recuse himself from her fraud and money-laundering trial.

Her counsel, advocate Johan Wessels, yesterday said there was much to substantiate Portia Sizani’s subjective perception that the magistrate presiding in her R1.2-million fraud trial, Mputumi Mpofu, was biased against her.

He argued it was largely because of the way in which Mpofu always ruled against Sizani during her trial that she had developed her perception of bias.

Wessels suggested the magistrate’s bias was so overt that some of his unfair rulings during the trial might amount to material irregularities.

Mpofu had not been open to argument or persuasion even when direct evidence of undisputable fact had been placed before him, said Wessels.

The 49-year-old former education department Early Childhood Development (ECD) district coordinator stands accused of defrauding the education department by creating “ghost” teachers and pocketing their salaries between 2009 and 2010.

It was argued during the recusal application last year that part of Mpofu’s bias had developed due to his own wife working for the education department. But, in refusing to recuse himself, Mpofu had pointed out that his wife had stopped working for the department in 2013.

Wessels did not pursue the allegation of bias on this basis yesterday, but said there was plenty of other cumulative evidence supporting Portia Sizani’s perception of bias.

Advocate Albert Beyleveld, SC, arguing for magistrate Mpofu, said whether the magistrate’s decisions could be considered good, bad or indifferent, it could not be argued that he had not applied his mind to argument in each separate decision.

Sizani’s trial in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court was postponed in September to mid-February next year pending the outcome of the review application that was argued yesterday.

State prosecuting advocate Ronelle Brink also rejected the idea that any of Mpofu’s actions could be considered an indication of bias against Sizani.

Mpofu has already found Sizani not guilty on five of the 15 counts of money laundering against her. But she still faces over a dozen other counts of fraud and money laundering.

Judges Jeremy Pickering and Gerald Bloem reserved judgment.