Staff Reporter
Former Free State Agriculture and Rural Development head Mbana Peter Thabethe, accused of conniving with the Guptas and others to loot R25-million meant to benefit some of the province’s poor, has been granted bail at the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court.
Magistrate Estelle DE Lange released him on R10 000 bail and asked him to return to court on July 5 for the continuation of the matter.
His co-accused, Iqbal Sharma, is expected to apply for bail later today.
The state, represented by Jacyntha Witbooi, had opposed Thabethe’s bail application saying the matter had drawn a lot of public interest given that funds alleged stolen by the accused were meant for service delivery with a particular focus on the poor.
“The funds that were looted were meant for service delivery,” said Witbooi.
“People are frustrated . . . The Free State was the most looted province by the Gupta family,” she added.
However, defence lawyer Advocate Willem Edeling argued the state did not have a strong case and that there was no reason the accused should be denied bail.
“There’s nothing in the submission in the matter before you to prove a solid case and deny the accused bail,” he argued.
Thabethe and Sharma were arrested last Wednesday and made an initial court appearance the following day.
Their other two accomplices, Limakatso Moorosi, also a former head of the provincial agriculture department, and Seipati Sylvia Dhlamini, the department’s former chief financial officer, were each granted bail of R10 000 last week.
Thabethe and Sharma opted to apply for bail today as their legal representatives indicated they needed more time to prepare.
They spent the weekend at the Bainsvlei Police Station.
The pair is among the 17 accused who face charges relating to defrauding the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The fraud is in connection with a R25-million feasibility study dating back to 2011 that was irregularly granted to Nulane Investment 204 (Pty) Ltd, a company owned and controlled by Sharma.
The company had to provide a report to the department within seven months.
Nulane, however, subcontracted the work to Deloitte Consulting (Pty) Ltd for R1.5 million.
Furthermore, it subcontracted the work already completed by Deloitte to the United Arab Emirates-based Gateway Limited and paid them over R19 million.
From there, the funds were diverted to Islandsite Investments 180 (Pty) Ltd, a company owned and controlled by the Gupta family.
The accused face charges of fraud and money laundering.
The former government officials are also charged with contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
The fifth suspect in the matter, Iqbal Sharma’s brother-in-law and a representative of Nulane Investments, Dinesh Patel, will formally appear in court on June 15, owing to health reasons.
They are charged together with four companies, Nulane Investments 204 (Pty) Ltd, Wone Management (Pty) Ltd, Pragat Investments (Pty) Ltd and Islandsite Investments 180 (Pty) Ltd.
The other accused are not currently out of the country and are being pursued by South African authorities with the help of Interpol.