Mayor’s graft case worsens

Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, who had hoped the corruption case against her would be kicked out of the Durban Commercial Crimes Court, will return to court on April 16, after another dramatic turn yesterday.

The hearing kicked off with evidence suggesting the alleged amount involved in Gumede and her co-accused’s Durban solid waste tender corruption case has risen to R389 million. This is much higher than the R208 million the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) had initially put it at.

Gumede’s hearing got off to a bumpy start after one of the co-accused collapsed during proceedings. Paramedics were called to the scene before the matter was postponed to April.

From the National Prosecuting Authority, Natasha Kara provided an update on the reasons for the postponement.

“The state made submissions to the court asking for the adjournment.

“One of the reasons was certain documents were found during the search and seizure operation in the home of one of the accused. This warranted further investigation.

“Added to that is the voluntary information which the state has in its possession which needs to be further analysed.”

The former eThekwini mayor addressed her supporters outside court. They have openly expressed their hopes the case will be thrown out of court, in the belief that the tender corruption case against her was politically motivated.

Speaking on Tuesday ahead of Gumede’s return to court yesterday, loyal ally Mzomuhle Dube said support for her was growing.

“We are saying that we have reached a level. People must begin to understand, if they had a case, they would have charged her properly.

“The National Prosecuting Authority has been unable to present any concise charges.” Gumede is out on R50 000 bail. In December last year, the Hawks arrested seven more people, including four councillors, in connection with the allegations relating to a R200 million tender. Twenty-two people have been arrested in the case, News24 previously reported.

Gumede stepped down from her position as mayor last year.

In October, the Hawks and the Asset Forfeiture Unit swooped in on the fraud, corruption and money-laundering-accused, seizing homes and luxury cars.