State set deadline to give defence outstanding evidence in City tender fraud case

The State has been given a deadline to provide defence lawyers in the R2.5 million City of Cape Town tender fraud case with copies of all the outstanding evidence gathered in the investigation by June 9 so that the matter can proceed on July 14.

Magistrate Ronel Oliver also ordered all documentation including charge sheets be delivered to the defence lawyers by July 7, in good time for them to prepare their case. The case is against the directors and employees of Ilitha Painters and Decorators, trading as The Construction Company (TCC), and two City officials.

As was the case when the accused last appeared before the magistrate in April, only seven of them were in court. Advocate Reuben Liddell, who is appearing in the matter for TCC, its directors and employees, told the court Craig Kannemeyer was still in Ireland, where he now works, but assured the court that as promised in April, Kannemeyer would return when “the matter reaches a stage when it can be finalised”.

However, the magistrate ordered Liddell or his instructing attorneys should give the investigating officer in the case, Andre Pekeur of the SAPS Commercial Crimes Unit, all the necessary details regarding Kannemeyer’s whereabouts, and to ensure he appeared when the matter was trial ready. Oliver said the trial would begin on July 14, and extended bail for the eight accused.

They are TCC directors Asif Khan and Abdul Karrim Khan, their employees Uwais Khan, Irfaan Khan, Abdulatief Abrahams and Kannemeyer, as well as City employees Adam Majiet and Alistair Stanbul. The investigation has been ongoing since October 2020, and in April the State asked for more time.

At the time investigating officer Andre Pekeur said he had found discrepancies in a cash flow analysis, and this had held things up as the police needed more time to make sense of it. Pekeur also told the court the cybercrime unit’s analysis of the eight cellphones and eight computers that had been taken during a search and seizure operation at the offices of the accused had run into problems due to load shedding.

However, he said the cybercrime unit had assured him they would be working overtime and would be on track to complete their work by last Friday’s appearance. On Friday, advocate Lyle Hendricks for the two City officials complained to the court that on Thursday afternoon the State prosecutor had told him in an email that the cash flow analysis was incomplete. Hendricks argued the delays were denying his clients justice.

The prosecutor said the police had contacted her late on Thursday to say they had finished everything, and she had passed the information on to the defence lawyers on Friday morning. The case stems from an October 2020 complaint lodged with the police by anti-crime activist Hanif Loonat and relates to a tender for the maintenance of City-owned housing units.

When he lodged the complaint, Loonat alleged Ilitha Painters and Decorators was involved in a corrupt relationship with the City.