"The door is not closed on Abdullah," Wesson Manchwe told magistrate Lot Moroka in the case where former Permanent Secretary, Elvidge Mhlauli is facing corruption and abuse of office charges. Manchwe was responding to a question posed by Moroka who wondered why the state seemed to have practised selective justice in deciding who to prosecute in the disputed allocation of the land where Riverwalk Mall sits.
For a moment, the spotlight in the case shifted from Mhlauli to Abdullah, the high-flying business mogul who owns the expansive Game City Mall. Abdullah was characterised the big fish and the Siamese twin in the corruption allegations in the case. Both the defence and the prosecution agreed that based on evidence before court, he should have been charged at least with defeating the ends of justice. Defence lawyer, Francois Van Zyl said Abdullah is the mastermind who was to benefit handsomely in whatever dirty deed was planned. He said from the evidence, it was clear that the grand scheme was for Abdullah to benefit either way. The evidence in court suggested that Abdullah bankrolled a fabricated case launched by one of the parties in the land dispute involving Kadimo Oremeng. "Was Oremeng used as a pawn by the big players," wondered magistrate Moroka. Van Zyl responded in the affirmative.
