Central SA
Case against former North West mayor postponed─── 07:40 Sat, 15 Apr 2023
The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Ventersdorp postponed the fraud and theft case against the former JB Marks Local Municipality Executive Mayor Kgotso Khumalo and two co-accused.
Khumalo, Mohau Shuping and Cyril Hendry, will be back in court on 16 August 2023.
The matter has been postponed on several occasions to afford Shuping time to appoint and consult with a new legal representative after he terminated the services of his previous attorney.
He has now reappointed the services of the same attorney he withdrew.
The three are out on warning and they were cautioned not to interfere with the state witnesses. Khumalo, Shuping, and Hendry face eight charges of theft and defrauding municipal funds, and they have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
It is alleged that the North-West University and the Programme for Community Development paid millions into a trust account belonging to Coetzee’s law firm, for the use of specific projects by the municipality.
The attorney was then given instructions to effect various payments, including an R208 000 mayoral committee contribution, towards the funeral of the late MEC for Agriculture, Duma Ndleleni, who passed away in November 2018.
The state intends to call more witnesses and is ready to proceed with the trial, with the hope that no further delays will be experienced.
