The attorney for businessman Vimpie Manthata was warned by an Investigating Directorate investigator not to talk to state witnesses in the R191m police “blue lights” tender case.
This emerged at the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court on Tuesday as the state opposed an application by Manthata's co-accused, former acting national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, to have the case struck off the roll.
The other accused are Manthata's company Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement, recently fired deputy national commissioner Bonang Mgwenya and former Gauteng provincial commissioner Deliwe de Lange.
Others are former divisional commissioner for supply chain management Ramahlapi Mokwena and police officials James Ramanjalum, Nombhuruza Letti Napo, Thomas Dumasi Marima, Maetapese Joseph Mulaiwa, Judy Rose and Samantha Andrews.
They are expected to answer to charges of fraud, theft and obstructing or defeating the ends of justice.
The charges relate to a multimillion-rand tender which Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement was awarded to install emergency lights on 1,550 police vehicles, at grossly inflated prices.
It is alleged that police ignored a competitive bidding process to award the tender in favour of Instrumentation for Traffic Law Enforcement, in exchange for benefits received from Manthata.
When the trial was due to start last week, Phahlane's advocate Zweli Zakwe said the matter was not ready for trial and asked for it to be struck off the roll. Zakwe said the state had misled the court in July when it indicated it was ready for the trial to start on November 16.
Zakwe also said a search and seizure operation at Phahlane's home in October, where his electronic devices were confiscated, indicated that the state was still investigating and was not ready for trial.
State 'ready to proceed' to trial
On Tuesday, prosecutor Tilas Chabalala read an affidavit from Kobus Roelofse, an investigator in the matter, who said during levels 5 and 4 of the lockdown he was able to ascertain from the data obtained during the investigation that Manthata had provided gratification to a number of the accused.
That information had to be verified and further investigation was required.
Roelofse said in his affidavit that Andre du Plessis, an attorney for Manthata, had at various instances had unsolicited contact with state witnesses.
He said he informed Du Plessis that he should stop talking to witnesses under subpoena, in an instance where he represented the accused.
Roelofse said the search and seizure operations of October 13 were conducted on the premises of service providers allegedly used by Manthata to provide gratification to the police. They included a clothing store and a furniture shop.
He said challenges to the search and seizure operations could be dealt with during the trial.
He said during investigations this year, Mgwenya was identified as a key player in the matter. The state had followed all legal steps to ensure that all information was before court. “The state is ready to proceed to trial,” read his affidavit.
Chabalala, in opposing the application to strike the matter off the roll, said if there was a delay, it had not been unreasonable and the case should not be struck off. He had never informed the court, when the case was postponed in July for trial in November, that the investigation was complete.
He also said nothing prevented the state from adding more accused as the Criminal Procedure Act provided for that.
Chabalala said there was no conclusive proof provided by the defence that the state was not ready to start with the trial when the date was set in July. The state had a number of witnesses ready.
Argument by the state will continue on December 9.
