Former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede previously accused the State of treating her unfairly by arresting her before completing its investigations.
Former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede and and some of her co-accused appear in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on 10 September 2020 on charges relating to corruption. Picture: Nkosikhona Duma/EWN
DURBAN – The case against former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede and 16 others has been postponed to 10 December.
Gumede and her co-accused face corruption charges linked to tender fraud to the tune of over R400 million.
The State requested the postponement, saying that while it had enough evidence to start a criminal case a forensic audit still needed to be finalised.
Gumede and her 16 co-accused appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.
She has always maintained her innocence saying that as a politician she could not interfere with tender processes.
Former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede has made her way into the Durban Commercial Crimes Court. She and 16 others face corruption charges linked to tender fraud valued at over R400m. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/SlF0F8qYCo
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) September 10, 2020
The court has taken a 10 minute break at the request of Gumede’s lawyer Adv. Jay Naicker. Gumede appears irritable as she discusses the court’s proceedings with her co-accused Sipho Nzuza and her lawyer Jay Naicker. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/BJ9JMhyxRz
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) September 10, 2020
Gumede previously accused the State of treating her unfairly by arresting her before completing its investigations.
The State said that while it had enough evidence to proceed with the case, it expected to uncover more before the next court date.
State prosecutor Ashika Lucken reiterated that an eThekwini Municipality audit report showed what appeared to be irregularities during Gumede’s tenure as mayor.
The State plans to use the next three months to complete its own forensic audit report.
