How Mhlauli walked

State Counsel, Boyce F. Rampete, a dark-brown man with a frail looking frame, a small face half lost behind big shades, his large robe swirling in a cloud behind him, walks up the stairs to Court Number 11. He nervously puffs on a cigarette. At the door, he turns the handle once. Nothing. Again. Nothing. He looks around exasperatedly. The time is just about 9:30 am.

"The case is down at Court Number 7," says a cleaner. He turns and smiles. A toothless grin. He dismounts the stairs. He takes another puff, lets the smoke permeate his lungs, and then lets out a cloud through his nose. He makes for the other block on the eastern side of the High Court complex. But this day is only partly about Rampete. He will play some part in today's proceedings but the day is really about Elvidge Mhlauli, the former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing who seeks his temporary freedom today.