Ex-KZN treasurer gets 15 years for fraud
FORMER KwaZulu-Natal treasurer Dumisani Sipho Derrick Shabalala was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Pietermaritzburg High Court for corruption, fraud, money laundering and contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Shabalala’s bail was extended and he will reappear in court on Tuesday where he will apply for leave to appeal the sentence.
The former treasurer had been found guilty in June for his role in the “amigos case” involving the award of a contract for the supply of water purification plants in return for kickbacks.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in a statement yesterday said Shabalala’s conviction related to his receipt of R1.5 million from Intaka Investments, for the acquisition of “Wataka” water purification plants valued at R44 million.
Shabalala’s lawyer, advocate Khumbu Shazi, speaking after the sentencing proceedings, said the main basis of the appeal, should leave be granted, would be that the court misdirected itself in the assessment of evidence.
NPA KZN spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the offence occurred between 2004 and 2007 when Shabalala formed a relationship with Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi and the company Intaka Investments.
“Shabalala then travelled to Brazil to view the purification equipment. On his return to South Africa, he wrote to the then-MEC, Dr Zweli Mkhize, recommending that monies be allocated from the poverty alleviation fund for the acquisition of the water purification plants from Intaka.
“The process culminated in the awarding of a contract for 22 ‘Wataka’ plants. Shabalala was the chairperson of the procurement committee that awarded the contract.”
Ramkisson-Kara said the conviction on the contravention of the PFMA in a high court reflected the pointed focus on holding government officials accountable for corruption, using this piece of legislation.
“Shabalala was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for fraud, 15 years for corruption, 10 years for money laundering and five years for contravening the PFMA.
“The sentences will run concurrently. His bail was extended to 13 September 2022, when the court will hear his application for leave to appeal.”
Yesterday, speaking outside court, Shazi said they would base their appeal on the assessment of evidence which they felt had not been done by the court.
“The court found him guilty of contravening the Public Finance Management Act because he was the accounting officer but during the plea explanation, a current Treasury official told the court that she was the accounting officer at the time.
“The court found that the witness had lied but the witness was not challenged at the time and the issue wasn’t brought up in court so we could address or challenge it.”
The NPA said Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Elaine Zungu, lauded the outcome and commended the stellar work done by the prosecution and investigating teams.
“This sentence indicates that even though the wheels of justice may turn slowly in such complex cases of corruption, they do turn.”
The first arrests in the matter, dubbed the “amigos case” because this is how some of the accused referred to each other in correspondence, were made in 2010 when there were 23 accused, including political heavyweights Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni.
Charges were withdrawn against Mabuyakhulu, Nkonyeni and others.
Shabalala’s wife, Beatrice, who was facing charges of money laundering, was acquitted by Judge Dhaya Pillay in June.