Four defence lawyers who took turns cross-examining the lead investigator in the Nulane case all accused him of having a predetermined agenda to execute his case.
Mandla Mtolo, who was testifying in the Nulane R24.9m fraud and money-laundering trial, was accused of sticking to a script informed by a pre-existing narrative when investigating the case.
Mtolo faced tough questions about his investigation strategy and the decision taken to offer a government employee an indemnity witness status allegedly without following proper processes.
Almost all the defence lawyers separately accused him of not completing his “bottom-up investigation strategy” by not speaking to all those he suspected to have been involved in the alleged wrongdoing.
Mtolo, who headed the probe into this case and the R280m Estina dairy farm matter, had during evidence in chief, led by prosecutor Peter Serunye, told the court he adopted an investigation strategy in which he started from the bottom and made his way up.
The investigation centred on how the alleged corrupt tender, in which money was paid to Nulane Investments to conduct a feasibility study for the Free State’s Mohoma Mobung project, was entered into.
You know what, you had your narrative ... you were fixated that there’s an irregular payment.
— Attorney Bronwynne Forbay representing Iqbal Sharma
The case features Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma, his brother-in-law Dinesh Patel, Gupta lieutenant Ronica Ragavan, three former provincial senior officials Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi, Seipati Dhlamini and two companies Islandsite and Nulane.
The extradition from Dubai of Atul and Rajesh Gupta has been sought in connection with the matter after department money amounting to almost R20m found its way into the family’s company bank accounts.
Monday saw Ishmael Semenya, representing Moorosi, Willem Ediling, representing Dhlamini, and Bronwynne Forbay, representing Sharma, get Mtolo to admit that though he started from the bottom his investigation also “ended at the bottom”.
Mtolo was grilled on why he did not interview or speak to any of the other accused in the matter. They alleged that showed he had a pre-existing narrative.
Shadrack Cezula, a then supply chain official turned section 204 indemnity state witness, had drafted the deviation document on October 6 2011, which was used to pay Gupta associate Sharma’s Nulane Investments the R12.4m advance payment on the same day it was drafted.
Edeling accused Mtolo of sticking to what he was “told and directed” when conducting his investigation, including the move to turn Cezula into a state witness.
Cezula told the court about a month ago how the deviation letter was dictated to him by Dhlamini and that Nulane’s banking details for the initial payment had been scribbled on a piece of paper.
Forbay accused of Mtolo of narrowing his investigation to align it to an instruction he was given, which included seeking an indemnity witness.
Mtolo disputed this, saying the NPA’s Investigating Directorate team decided on turning Cezula into an indemnity witness after assessing what he had told him about his involvement in drafting the deviation letter.
However, Forbay said Mtolo’s investigation was driven in a very specific manner. “You know what, you had your narrative ... you were fixated that there’s an irregular payment,” Forbay said.
Mtolo dug his heels in, saying he did not need to speak others as the documents he had received from the department had given him the picture of what had transpired.
“Why did you not arrest Mr Cezula?” Forbay asked Mtolo, who responded that Cezula had offered to become an indemnity witness, therefore there was no need to arrest him.
“Before you took the [Cezula’s] statement, you knew there was something wrong ... Why did you not arrest him?” pressed Forbay.
Kenny Oldwage, representing Patel, accused Mtolo of threatening Cezula, and lying and tricking him into becoming a state witness.
“You [Mtolo] told him [Cezula] he was part of an indictment when he was not. You scared the hell out of him. You lied to him,” Oldwage charged.
The matter continues on Tuesday with Mtolo still on the stand.
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