Senior ANC member in court for fraud, theft

Former ANCYL treasurer general Pule Mabe and two other men appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court yesterday in connection with fraud, eNCA reported.

Mabe, a member of the ruling party’s national executive council, and his co-accused, Paseka Letsatsi and Kabedi Ramosa, handed themselves over at the Sunnyside police station in Pretoria earlier in the day.

They were reportedly granted bail of R10 000 each. The matter was postponed to February 13.

The three are facing charges of theft, fraud, and money laundering.

Letsatsi, head of communications of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa), allegedly illegally solicited funds from the agency which were given to companies owned by Mabe and Ramosa.

The quoted Letsatsi’s lawyer, Zola Majavu, as saying his client was accused number one. Majavu said the charges stemmed from 2008 when Fezile Makiwana was chief executive of Sassa.

“[Letsatsi] is being charged with fraud, alternatively theft, on the basis that he offered a memo which was authorised by his chief executive at the time and money was paid out to people where it was not supposed to,” Majavu said.

He said “whatever is alleged to have happened, did so within the scope of his employment [as head of communications]”.

Makiwane was dismissed amid allegations of fraud and corruption. –