Thabethe has obtained the services of Jacob Zuma’s ex-attorney, Lugisani Daniel Mantsha. Thabethe’s recent change in legal counsel was revealed during virtual proceedings before the Bloemfontein Regional Court on Monday 6 December before Magistrate Nteshe Smanga. Senior advocate Nazeer Cassim, representing the state, revealed that all the accused, aside from Thabethe, have received the final indictment, owing to this last change in his legal counsel. Cassim proposed that the matter remain on the Magistrate's Court's roll to allow for Mantsha and Thabethe to view this indictment before the matter could be transferred to the Free State High Court. However, Mantsha opposed this suggestion and stressed his client wouldn’t be prejudiced if the matter moved forward.

“During the bail hearing of this matter, my client was told the state was ready to commence with the trial. And my client is stretched with several matters relating to things like this, so we want the matter to be transferred to the High Court. We have been promised we will get the indictment today. There is no prejudice to accused number one – Thabethe – if the matter is transferred to the High Court today. We don’t want the matter to be delayed further,” says Mantsha to Smanga.

The case will now be transferred to the Free State High Court and will sit for pre-trial purposes on 23 February 2022.

Interestingly, not only was Mantsha alleged to have been struck off the roll previously, but he was, according to the Daily Maverick, appointed by former Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown as the non-executive director and chairperson of Denel’s board for a three year period in 2015. It is alleged that it was around this time that he developed a relationship with the Gupta brothers.

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The “several matters” Mantsha is referring to pertaining to the former HOD of the Free State Agriculture Department, include an ongoing criminal case on the irregular awarding of contracts at the department to Superior Quality Trading, also known as Rekgonne Community Projects, between 2012 and 2016. Both Thabethe and the current Deputy Director-General at the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sylvia Dlamini, are accused in that case as well. The irregular contracts were discovered during the Vrede Dairy case.

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Aside from Thabethe and Dlamini, the other accused in this are former Deputy Director-General (DDG) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Transnet board member, Iqbal Sharma;  Bloem Water Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Limakatso Moorosi, Sharma’s businessman brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel; Islandsite Investment 180 Director, Ronica Ragavan; and the businesses embroiled in the saga.

The background of the state’s case is that in 2011, the Free State Agriculture Department paid over almost R25 million to Nulane Investments, which was owned by Sharma, for the Vrede feasibility study. Nulane – represented by Sharma’s brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel – then negotiated and subcontracted the same feasibility study to forensic auditing firm, Deloitte, for R1,5 million. They went further and subcontracted the work already carried out by Deloitte to Gateway Limited and paid them R19 million.

The state alleges the funds were thereafter laundered into varied accounts, including that of Islandsite Investments 180. It is for the money-laundering that occurred that the Gupta family has now been linked to the case. The state has, in light of the money-laundering allegations, approached Interpol to have them issue red notices for Atul and Rajesh Gupta, as well as for their wives, Chetali and Arti.

Whilst red notices for the Gupta family remain under consideration, the notices have been issued for their associates, former Nulane Investment Bank of Baroda account signatory, Ankit Jain; Director of Wone Management, Ravindra Nath; and the Directors of Pragat Investments, Ramesh Bhat and Jagdish Parekh.

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