Living up to the slogan on her mask, retired KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni believes that “everything is gonna be OK”.
Walking out of the Durban Magistrates’ Court on Monday afternoon, Ngobeni, wrapped in a faux-fur stole, confidently told Sunday Times Daily she would win the case of fraud and corruption against her.
“Of course, I will win,” she said.
Ngobeni had just paid R20,000 bail after she appeared in court for her alleged role as an “accessory after the fact” in corruption and fraud relating to 2010 Fifa World Cup police tenders.
“Take as many pictures as you want,” she told Sunday Times Daily as she walked to her BMW SUV.
She said she still lived in the eThekwini region, and when asked what she got up to these days, Ngobeni replied: “Just being retired, darling.”
The former police boss did not reveal her strategy to win her legal battle, but her lawyer Ravindra Manicklal hinted in court that Ngobeni would argue that she did not authorise the tenders in question.
He told the court that directives and decisions relating to the World Cup tenders were made at a national level. He insisted that Ngobeni played no part at a provincial level.
However, he was unable to explain further as magistrate Vanitha Armu said the bail application was not the appropriate proceedings at which to bring up his arguments.
Manicklal also explained the current matter against Ngobeni was unconstitutional because a 2014 decision not to prosecute her was never reviewed.
He said only a national director of prosecution had the power to review the decision, and because it was not done in Ngobeni’s case, the case against her was irrational, irregular and unconstitutional.
Lawyer Ravindra Manicklal said only a national director of prosecution has the power to review a decision not to prosecute and that because it was not done retired police commissioner Mmamonye Ngobeni's case, therefore the case against her was unconstitutional. @TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/JK4ZeefpxI
— Nivashni Nair (@NivashniNair) October 5, 2020
He later told journalists that Ngobeni was surprised to be charged as she was aware that a review had not been conducted.
Ngobeni later told Sunday Times Daily that she was “doing good” and “happy” with the outcome of the day’s proceedings.
She was granted R20,000 bail, while co-accused Aswin Narainpershad, who also handed himself over to police on Monday morning, was released on R10,000 bail.
They are accused of corruption linked to 2010 Fifa World Cup police tenders involving about R47m.
Controversial businessman Thoshan Panday and police colonel Navin Madhoe appeared in the Durban Magistrate’ Court on Friday.
All four have been charged with multiple counts of corruption, while three of them face five counts of fraud, two counts of forgery and one count of uttering (when a person offers as genuine a forged instrument with the intent to defraud).
The court heard on Monday that Ngobeni was charged as an accessory after the fact relating to the World Cup tenders amounting to R26m.
Prosecutor advocate Talita Louw said Ngobeni allegedly directly or indirectly received R26,000 for a birthday party.
According to the charge sheet, Panday paid for Ngobeni’s husband’s birthday party in 2010. Her husband Lucas was also a policeman.
Louw explained that Ngobeni was charged with defeating the ends of justice after she ordered investigators to stop their probe into tender fraud and that as a high-ranking officer it was her duty to report fraud and criminal activity.
