Disgraced bishop tells of struggle to survive
Court hears arguments for lighter sentence from defiant Banzana
FROM living the high life in one of Port Elizabeth’s most affluent suburbs and driving around in fancy cars, a disgraced bishop told in the witness box yesterday how he was now reduced to taking whatever “piece jobs” he could find to survive.
Despite being found guilty on four counts of corruption, Bishop Samuel Mzukisi Banzana refused to admit to any wrongdoing as he mitigated for a more lenient sentence.
While the defence pleaded for a sentence of correctional supervision despite Banzana’s apparent lack of remorse, the prosecution asked the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court to send him to prison for a long time.
The 55-year-old bishop will hear his fate today.
Banzana, of Umzi waseTopiya, had been employed as general manager of the Mzingisi Development Trust (MDT) at the time of the offences.
The trust was established in 1992 with the aim of improving living standards in impoverished areas in Nelson Mandela Bay.
It was then appointed by the Eastern Cape Department of Housing, Local Government and Traditional Affairs for the construction of various housing projects.
In December 1997, the trust secured land from the municipality for development.
But magistrate Louis Claassen found that Banzana received kickbacks of about R3-million in exchange for influencing the procurement of the contracts.
In March, Claassen convicted him on four counts of corruption.
Taking the stand yesterday, a smartly dressed and seemingly calm Banzana said the Asset Forfeiture Unit had already sold off his Lovemore Heights family home and three cars.
He said he now lived with his wife’s parents in Cotswold and was only paid when he was able to find a piece job.
He remained adamant that he was not guilty.
Taking the stand later, Vulyani Siziba, who became an MDT trustee in 2011, and has known Banzana since the 1980s, described him as a family man and trusted member of the community.
He said that despite the court’s finding, community members continued to support the bishop and believed in his innocence.
“At times, he would even use his own money to ensure the trust could continue its work,” Siziba said.
In addition, Banzana had supported struggling soccer teams and gave advice to the youth.
State advocate Ronelle Brink said the way in which Banzana committed the offences, using his trusted position to deceive, “should send shivers down the spine”.
She said the offences were well planned and executed over a period of time.
“Bribery is a corrupt and ugly offence,” she said. “It is difficult to detect and so it has become more difficult to eradicate.”
Brink said in this case, the interest of the community outweighed the interest of the accused.