NPF money laundering case heads to trial
Mpho Mokwape | Friday August 23, 2019 14:34
On Wednesday, Broadhurst Regional South Magistrate, Masilo Mathaka committed the accused persons to stand trial despite an earlier call by the accused persons for him to stay the proceedings.
Mathaka dismissed the application by the accused persons, who include Bakang Seretse, Kenneth Kerekang and the Kebonang brothers, former minister Sadique and High Court judge Zein. The magistrate ruled that the matter should proceed to the High Court.
The accused persons, through their attorneys Unoda Mack and Kgosietsile Ngakaagae, had made an application to stay the committal proceedings saying the clients still needed to challenge an earlier decision by Mathaka to dismiss the defence’s request to throw the case out.
During the application arguments attorney Ngakaagae argued that they needed the stay pending the review of magistrate’s decision.
He said the case had many witnesses, which meant that his clients might spend many years on trial despite the State having failed to provide more concrete evidence on the matter.
“The delay of the matter could be detrimental to my clients and it is only fair that a stay of committal be sought pending a review of the court’s decision not to quash the charges,” he argued.
Mack told court that the case was a dead end as the State had charged the accused persons with money laundering despite having failed to establish any link with them.
“Some of the accused persons are accused of transferring money from one bank to another using different companies, but the State has failed to show evidence linking the accused persons to the companies.
“They are not even signatories and one wonders how they managed to move the funds,” he said.
However state prosecutor, Wesson Manchwe explained that the accused persons may not be employees of the said companies and signatories, but investigations have established that they were part of the money-laundering scheme. He argued that the accused persons were acting in common purpose to the happenings despite not being directly involved.
Meanwhile,the accused persons remain on bail despite their committal and the State’s call for the immediate cancellation of bail.
Mathaka explained that there was no need to cancel the bail for the accused persons and ruled that they would continue on their previous bail conditions while waiting for the trial’s start.