Former Buffalo City Metro mayor Zukiswa Ncitha and the city’s head of executive support services Ncumisa Sidukwana handed themselves over to the Hawks yesterday.
Arrest warrants for the two were issued last month when they were implicated in a 2015 BCM fraud case opened with police by then city manager Andile Fani.
Ncitha, a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), and Sidukwana made a brief appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday before being released on R2500 bail each.
They appeared alongside the metro’s chief financial officer, Vincent Pillay; supply chain management general manager Thembelani Sali; and BCM councillor and ANC regional deputy chairwoman Luleka Simon-Ndzele.
The sixth accused Matthew Moodley, a prominent attorney with Matyeshana Moodley Inc, was not present in court as he was said to have been sick.
The accused were arrested last month by a Hawks task team formed in Pretoria specifically to eradicate corruption in Eastern Cape municipalities.
The accused are facing two charges of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
All the six accused are being represented by advocate Mike Maseti.
The case yesterday was heard before A-court magistrate Rochelle Sam.
The case was postponed to June 7.
Charges against the six emanate from an incident on May 7 2015 where Sidukwana allegedly submitted a memorandum to Fani requesting approval for a deviation in appointing Moodley.
According to legal papers before the court, Sali allegedly supported the memorandum and commented: “The accounting officer has the authority to approve the deviation as reflected in regulation 36 (1) (a) (i) (v) of the Municipal Finance Management Act based on the expositions in this memorandum.”
But Fani wrote a letter the following day declining to approve the deviation.
It is the state’s case that three days later Sidukwana then requested an employee to write a requisition requesting legal services and submit it to Sali’s department for processing without giving supporting documents.
Moodley was hired and allegedly quoted R189000 for his services.
Moodley was charged for allegedly billing BCM for work done from May 7 2015 while in fact he started working on May 13. Pillay was charged for contravening section 174 (3) of the MFMA, but no details of the allegation were given on the charge sheet.
Ncitha and BCM official in fraud case
Arrest warrants for the two were issued last month when they were implicated in a 2015 BCM fraud case opened with police by then city manager Andile Fani.
Ncitha, a member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), and Sidukwana made a brief appearance in the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday before being released on R2500 bail each.
They appeared alongside the metro’s chief financial officer, Vincent Pillay; supply chain management general manager Thembelani Sali; and BCM councillor and ANC regional deputy chairwoman Luleka Simon-Ndzele.
The sixth accused Matthew Moodley, a prominent attorney with Matyeshana Moodley Inc, was not present in court as he was said to have been sick.
The accused were arrested last month by a Hawks task team formed in Pretoria specifically to eradicate corruption in Eastern Cape municipalities.
The accused are facing two charges of fraud and contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
All the six accused are being represented by advocate Mike Maseti.
The case yesterday was heard before A-court magistrate Rochelle Sam.
The case was postponed to June 7.
Charges against the six emanate from an incident on May 7 2015 where Sidukwana allegedly submitted a memorandum to Fani requesting approval for a deviation in appointing Moodley.
According to legal papers before the court, Sali allegedly supported the memorandum and commented: “The accounting officer has the authority to approve the deviation as reflected in regulation 36 (1) (a) (i) (v) of the Municipal Finance Management Act based on the expositions in this memorandum.”
But Fani wrote a letter the following day declining to approve the deviation.
It is the state’s case that three days later Sidukwana then requested an employee to write a requisition requesting legal services and submit it to Sali’s department for processing without giving supporting documents.
Moodley was hired and allegedly quoted R189000 for his services.
Moodley was charged for allegedly billing BCM for work done from May 7 2015 while in fact he started working on May 13. Pillay was charged for contravening section 174 (3) of the MFMA, but no details of the allegation were given on the charge sheet.
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