Still no final decision in R Kelly concert fraud case

09 July 2015 - 18:22 By Nomahlubi Jordaan

The state is still to make a final decision on the way forward in the fraud case against former head of the National Youth Development Agency‚ Andile Lungisa‚ and his co-accused. Lungisa‚ his wife Ursula Sali‚ as well as business associates Thabo Shogole and Xolisile Guqaza‚ appeared briefly in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on charges of fraud and money laundering on Thursday.The state alleges that the Department of Arts and Culture was defrauded by the accused claiming R2.5-million for the appearance of US R&B artist R Kelly at the Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day concert in August 2013 at the FNB Stadium in Soweto. The singer‚ who was on tour in South Africa‚ was unaware of the arrangement.Their case was postponed to next month for the state to make a final decision on the representations Lungisa and his co-accused made.Prosecutor Ronel Dookun asked for the postponement saying that the deputy director of public prosecutions had already made a decision but it needed to be confirmed.The case‚ which dates back to 2013‚ has been postponed on numerous occasions for various reasons.The accused first asked for a postponement in order to make representations in 2013 and the case was later postponed for the state to consider these representations. It was later postponed for the accused to hire a different lawyer and again for an exchange of documents once they had a new lawyer.One postponement was due to Lungisa being ill and another because the accused were “in the process of repaying the amounts”.The new lawyer representing the four accused‚ Mthetheleli Lindwa‚ also asked for more time to make further representations...

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