Corruption case against S'bu Ndebele likely to be dropped - report

26 March 2017 - 12:18 By TMG Digital
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Former transport minister S'bu Ndebele. File photo.
Former transport minister S'bu Ndebele. File photo.
Image: ALON SKUY

The corruption case against former transport minister S’bu Ndebele is likely to be dropped after intervention by President Jacob Zuma‚ the City Press reported on Sunday.

The newspaper cited three sources‚ who said that Zuma had appointed a senior to mediate between Ndebele and prosecutors after Ndebele had complained to the president about political interference in his case.

City Press said documents had revealed that there had been great haste to arrest Ndebele in 2015.

“Emails and an investigating officer’s diary reveal how National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shaun Abrahams‚ Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) chief executive officer (CEO) Makhosini Msibi‚ the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks’ Anti-corruption Task Team head Major General Zinhle Mnonopi put pressure on the prosecutor and investigating officer to rush Ndebele’s arrest‚” the newspaper reported.

It is believed that the arrest was key in firming up a civil case against the company Tasima.

Tasima has been caught in a legal battle with RTMC‚ which wants Tasima to hand over a multi-million rand contract to manage RTMC’s Electronic National Administration Traffic Information System (eNatis).

Ndebele is accused of accepting a R10 million bribe in exchange for fixing tenders worth department of transport tenders worth R2 billion.

Ndebele offered to resigned from his position as high commissioner to Australia‚ in order to spare the country's reputation‚ Business Day reported in November last year.

Ndebele told Business Day he was back in the country to face the charges against him.

The presidency denied that Zuma had intervened to save Ndebele.

"The allegations in today's City Press newspaper that President Jacob Zuma had asked for an intervention in the case faced by the former Minister of Transport Mr S'bu Ndebele are totally false and without foundation‚" the presidency said in a statement.

"The President has no knowledge of the said intervention. The alleged involvement of the President is a total fabrication by City Press."

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