Cape Town — The Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Mbombela has postponed the case against former state security minister, Bongani Bongo, to 2 May.
Bongo, along with 10 of his co-accused, did not show up at court on Wednesday morning and subsequently, an arrest warrant was allegedly issued. Bongo faces 69 charges related to fraud, theft, corruption and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act in connection with a R74m land deal by the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements (DoHS) in 2011, The Citizen reported.
Bongo and his co-accused are now seeking to have their case struck off the roll, and have argued that the state’s case against them is weak. It is alleged that the magistrate wrote an email to the legal representatives of the accused, stating he would not be able to deliver the judgement today, which led to a possible misunderstanding and why Bongo did not appear in court.
Bongani Bongo is now a wanted man. Bongo and some of his co-accused were a no-show in the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court. A warrant of arrest has since been issued with the court postponing proceedings to May 2. @mwelimasilela has more. https://t.co/TVkJGr2M0O pic.twitter.com/GJENOErgxt
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 17, 2024
However, according to IOL, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has dismissed reports of an arrest warrant against Bongo.
“There was no warrant of arrest issued. The matter was in court today (Wednesday) for judgment on Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act,” Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Monica Nyuswa, said.
“However, all role players made prior arrangements to postpone the matter to May 2, 2024. Only one accused appeared (in court on Wednesday).” she added.
Of all the accused people, David Boy Dube was reportedly the only person who made the court appearance on Wednesday. Dube was the head of department at the Mpumalanga provincial department when the crime allegedly took place.
Bongo is the former minister of state security, appointed by then president Jacob Zuma, until he was relieved of his duties in 2018. He was suspended by the ANC and removed as the chairperson of Parliament’s Home Affairs Portfolio Committee in 2021 following the corruption case.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
