South Africa - Pretoria - 14 August 2024 - Shaun Abrahams in the North Gauteng High Court where the accused in the VBS case appeared. Picture: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
Six years after the VBS scandal broke, there is still no indication when the main trial will proceed after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria on Friday ruled that the trial of two of the accused had to be separated from that of their co-accused.
Judge Peter Mabuse ruled in favour of an application brought on behalf of former ANCYL leader Kabelo Matsepe and former provincial ANC treasurer, Danny Msiza. While they asked for either a separation of trial or a temporary stay of prosecution, the judge opted for a separation of trials.
But prosecutor Hein van der Merwe was not happy with the verdict, as he had all along maintained that all 13 accused must be tried together.
Van der Merwe indicated to the judge that the prosecution will challenge this ruling by means of an appeal. The prosecution first has to obtain leave to appeal from Judge Mabuse.
The judge, however, did not furnish reasons for his order and the matter was postponed to September 9, when the prosecution will launch their leave to appeal application.
Judge Mabuse will in the meantime issue his reasons for his finding to the various parties, which will enable the state to prepare its argument and for Advocate Shaun Abrahams to argue his objection to appeal proceedings.
Counsel for the 11 remaining accused did not this week file or argue any objections against the application by Matsepe and Msiza for a separation of trial.
Only one advocate told the court that he abided by the decision of the court. It is thus not expected that they will oppose the appeal bid.
Appeal proceedings by the State are set to further delay the main trial, in which the 13 accused are still due to plead on the host of corruption, theft and racketeering charges they are facing.
The separation of trials followed an argument this week by Abrahams that while the other accused and the State is ready to proceed with the trial, his clients simply cannot, as they are going to launch at least three applications, before they can face trial.
The first is a bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal to obtain permission to appeal against Judge Mabuse’s earlier refusal to order the State to issue the pair with further documents which they wanted.
While the prosecution did hand the contents of the case docket to them after their arrest, Matsepe and Msiza said they were entitled to far more information. This mainly pertains to documents in the possession of the investigation team, led by advocate Terry Motau SC, who earlier investigated the looting at VBS.
Abrahams said they are still awaiting an answer to their petition to the SCA for leave to appeal the refusal to give them the documents. He made it clear that if they were unsuccessful in the SCA, they would turn to the Constitutional Court.
While he could not give a timeline as to when they would be ready to face trial, Abrhams said all these processes could take years. He acknowledged that it was in the interest of the VBS complainants and the public that the trial proceeded, thus he said a separation of trial or a temporary stay of prosecution were the only solutions.
Van der Merwe, however, argued that there is no need for the additional information which the two accused wanted.
Van der Merwe said everything they need to prepare for their defence is contained in the docket -- which they have had since 2021. He said the charges were not formulated from information obtained from the Motau investigation, but from witness statements and other evidence.
The witnesses will present their evidence in court and if the accused then feel they need some additional information, the judge can handle it at that time, he said.
Van der Merwe called on the judge to rule that “enough is enough.”
The DA meanwhile renewed its call for justice in the VBS looting scandal and said it demands that it is time for those responsible to be held accountable, including politicians who allegedly benefited from this crime.
“In 2018, the VBS scandal exposed widespread looting by bank officials and politicians, including senior leaders of the EFF, Floyd Shivambu and Julius Malema. Nearly six years later, while we see criminal prosecutions against VBS officials, the politicians implicated remain unscathed, raising serious concerns about the pace of justice,” the party said.
Tshifhiwa Matodzi, a key figure in the VBS scandal, is meanwhile serving his 15 year jail sentence after he recently pleaded guilty to his involvement. He will be one of the state’s leading witnesses in the case against his erstwhile co-accused.
Former VBS CFO Phillip Truter has already been released on parole after spending three years and six months in jail for his part in the scandal. He was earlier sentenced to an effective seven years imprisonment on charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
zelda.venter@inl.co.za