Accused in R1bn housing fraud case in Cape Town seek dismissal over delays

Accused implicated in a R1bn housing tender fraud and corruption case in Cape Town are seeking to have the matter struck from the court roll. 

Their teams of lawyers argued in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Friday that delays in the state investigation had prejudiced them. Meanwhile, the state added three more accused to the case, including alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield’s mother-in-law Barbara Johnson and his younger brother Kyle Stanfield.

Suraya Manuel, an accountant and quantity surveyor Phakamisa Nondabula who works for Glomix — a company owned by Stanfield’s wife Nicole Johnson — were arrested in May with Kyle and Barbara on charges of defeating the ends of justice. 

The Bellville magistrate’s court granted them bail of R2,000 each. On Friday, their case was transferred to the Cape Town magistrate’s court and added to a R1bn corruption and tender fraud investigation related to housing construction projects in the city.

Manuel was already an accused in the Cape Town matter. She was arrested with former MMC for human settlements Malusi Booi, former city director of public housing Siphokazi September, Abdul Kader Davids (shot dead shortly after release on bail), Mohammad Amod, Randal Mullins, Breda Mullins, Thuli Imgib, Booi’s ex-wife Nomvuyo Mnyaka and Lona Ndoda.

They were arrested over eight city housing tenders, collectively worth R1.024bn, awarded to three companies. Stanfield and his wife were later joined in the case. There are close to 30 suspects in the matter facing more than 50 charges. 

Prosecutor Frank van Heerden said detectives had downloaded data from the accused’s cellphones. The police had also obtained 105 subpoenaed bank statements. He said 88 of them had been analysed. 

“There is a total of 17 that still have to be analysed,” said Van Heerden. “The state is asking for a postponement to analyse the 17 bank statements.” 

The state expected to bring a new application to have the matter transferred to the high court. “The investigating team is working overtime to ensure that the bank accounts are analysed,” he said.

The team of lawyers objected to the postponement and asked magistrate Alida Theart to strike the case off the roll as some clients were arrested 16 months ago. They also complained about technical issues with the virtual court appearance. Stanfield, Nicole, and several others attended remotely from different prisons. 

Defence lawyer Luzuko Guma objected to the postponement, saying the investigation dated to 2023 and “the accused’s devices, including cellphones, were confiscated”.

“These delays are unnecessary. I object vehemently to further investigation. This is not correct. You cannot arrest them and then investigate. What were they arresting them for? These are people’s lives.” 

Guma said some of the accused's businesses were in limbo. Van Heerden countered: “The prosecution is acutely aware of the rights of the accused but fairness is a double-edged sword.

“Counsel neglected to mention that some of the accused provided pins to their devices in September,” he said. “It was not as if the (investigating team) had access to the devices.” 

Van Heerden said the investigating officer assured him data analysis would be completed by March 20. He said there were also pending bail applications by some accused. 

Theart was “familiar” with the delays and noted the objections.

She postponed the matter to March 20 for further investigation but gave the state until March 17 to tell the defence if the investigation will not be complete by March 20, so the court could hold a hearing into the cause of delays.

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