Case against Kodwa and MacKay delayed until 1 November

Kodwa

Cape Town — The corruption case against former Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, Zizi Kodwa, and his co-accused Jehan Mackay, has been delayed until 1 November.

The duo made another appearance in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday as they await a decision about whether or not the charges against them will be dropped, The Citizen reported.

They are both out on R30 000 bail and intend to plead not guilty.

During a previous court appearance, the two men intended to have their charges dismissed and their representation is under review by the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Andrew Chauke.

Kodwa’s lawyer, Zola Majavu said the defence had agreed to the DPP’s request for additional time. Majavu said that Kodwa requested the court to mark this postponement as final for the DPP’s decision as he was concerned about the delays in the case. Majavu previously warned that Kodwa would request an application for a separation of trial if there were any further delays.

According to Magistrate Phillip Venter, he declined Majavu’s request on the basis that further postponements, in the case of new information being presented, cannot be ruled out, Newzroom Afrika reported.

“It depends on the motivation behind the applicant for the remand, so that is why I’m not going to agree to making it final, but every time an application is brought for a postponement, I apply my mind, and I assess it on the merits, whether such an application is justified or not, be assured of that,” the magistrate explained.
Venter postponed the case to 1 November and the bail conditions were extended.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) spokesperson, Phindi Mojondwane, explained the reasons behind the continuous delays in the case, and said the DPP was not ready yet, TimesLIVE reported.

“The matter has been postponed because the decision from the DPP [director of public prosecutions] is still not ready. The DPP is still applying its mind and requires more time to do the extensive work when one makes representations and it reaches the office of the DPP,” Mojondwane said.

Mojondwane said the person dealing with the representations should be in contact with the evidence int he docket for the first time and would require a report that the prosecutor decided to prosecute.

“So it also involves a lot of consultations, including the investigation officer as well as the complainants. Hence you see the unfortunate delays. But they are also necessary delays,” Mjonondwane said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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