Mzwinila fails to back claims in court

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Thursday November 4, 2010 00:00

After a challenge by the prosecutor in the Bank of Baroda robbery case, the politician did not produce evidence that border officials knew about the P200,000 impounded from his sister's son also called Michael Mzwinila.

The state prosecutor Priscilla Israel contended that Mzwinila senior was used as a shield in criminal activity.

She said the fact that he could not produce any documentation to prove his claim that the money was declared is due to the fact that he never had such money.

Mzwinila was giving evidence before Regional Magistrate Lot Moroka yesterday in a case where his nephews are charged with robbing Bank of Baroda.

The former MP said he gave his nephew P100,000 to buy him a vehicle in South Africa and another P100,000 to give to one Dr Scholtz, who was the politician's business partner.

The ex-MP told the court that he went to South Africa around April 2003 but he could not carry out his mission as an emergency call diverted him to Zimbabwe. He added that he sent his nephew to deliver the money to Dr Scholtz and buy the vehicle on his behalf.

'I usually send my nephew to do some errands for me and it was not the first time to do that. I trusted that he would do as I say,' Mzwinila said.

He said in court that after sometime, he learnt that his nephews were arrested on suspicions that they were involved in a Bank of Baroda robbery in Botswana.

Mzwinila said that later, his nephews were released after a failed extradition process and that is when he started the process of getting his money back but without success.

He told court that his efforts were not helped by the ineffective legal representative who failed to deliver on his mandate. 'I had to terminate his mandate because he was not performing,' Mzwinila said.

He stated that his failure to produce documentation in court was due to the fact that he had given the papers to his South African attorney. Mzwinila said that copies that he had were stolen when his house was broken into.Israel wondered why a wealthy person like Mzwinila would fail to pay a lawyer so as to access his documentation.

The politician replied that if he had been warned, he would have asked his attorney in South Africa to avail the papers.

The prosecutor submitted that the state is not claiming anything in court hence the burden of proof lay with Mzwinila.

The defence closed its case after Mzwinila's evidence with judgement set for November 19.  The case against Elizabeth Surtee, her sons Edward and Michael Mzwinila and her sister Maureen Moseki states that they attempted to rob Bank of Baroda of P1 million and threatened to use violence on the bank's managing director Kadayam Ramasubramoney. However, Surtee and Moseki have since been acquitted and discharged.