NPA told to get a move on in Vrede Dairy case

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is confident the Vrede Dairy criminal case will not be struck off the roll and they will complete their investigations within three months.

This after Magistrate Collin Nenkosi ruled yesterday that the state must finalise their investi- gations and provide the accused with the finalised docket by the end of November.

The accused, who are all out on bail ranging from R100 000 to R200 000, include the head of department in the Free State agricultural department Mbana Peter Thabethe, chief financial officer Sylvia Seipate Dlamini, former general manager district services in the department Dr Takisi Janki Masiteng, former Oakbay CEO Ashu Chawla, former Oakbay directors Nazeem Howa and Varun Gupta, Tegeta Resources director Ronica Ragavan and Kamal Vasram.

The NPA’s Free State spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said they are pleased that they have been granted a postponement of at least three months, although they had requested a period of three to five months.

Shuping says they are optimistic they would have gathered all the necessary evidence pertaining to the case in this period.

This despite the fact that Nenkosi, during the delivery of the judgment, said there is no momentum in the investigation because the state has failed to specify what progress they have made in the matter except that they have acquired 300 bank statements, proving that investigations were ongoing. – OFM News