Fraud case against Nkandla builder

Handwriting analysis has been requested in a fraud and corruption case against KwaZulu-Natal businesswoman Thandeka Nene, whose company was involved in the construction of President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home. Nene, her husband Sikhumbuzo Eric Nene, Nene’s sister Cynthia Cyndi Mahlalempini, and Jordon Ngubane appeared in the Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday in a matter unrelated to Zuma’s homestead. The four are shareholders of Ntshantsha Construction, and it is alleged that they presented false information to the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) to improve their company’s grading and secure government tenders.

The grades determined which contracts a company was eligible to apply for and if it had not been for the false information, the company would have received lower grades and would not have been awarded the contracts. The charge sheet refers to two provincial Department of Public Works tenders awarded to the close corporation based on their “false” grading. The company was paid just over R1.1 million for one tender and R3.1m for the second. It is alleged false information - tax invoices and financial statements - were submitted to receive a higher grading. The court heard on Wednesday that attorney Phyllis Jailall had made written representations to the State this week about why the charges should be withdrawn.

The State said owing to these representations, handwriting analysis would have to be carried out on documents they would rely on at trial. The case was adjourned to July 20. Meanwhile, Nene and her company, Bonelena Construction, are charged in a separate matter for fraud and forgery for tendering for work with false CIDB grades and for corruption. The State alleges that the company used the false grades to obtain tenders worth more than R100 million for work at schools and hospitals. On the corruption charge, it is alleged that bribes were paid to a Public Works official during the time when the company was awarded the contracts. Nene made headlines when it emerged that Bonelena was one of two building firms nominated by the public works department to do “security upgrades” to Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.

According to a report by the Special Investigations Unit, the public works department at one stage attempted to cancel the company’s R80-million contract because of non-performance on the Nkandla project. The report also revealed some of the work was awarded to the company despite it not having the correct CIDB grading because this was the instruction from former public works deputy minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu. Nene and the others are out on bail.