Gumede corruption case postponed for State to finalise forensic audit

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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.

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.

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