The tender corruption and money-laundering case of former ANC spokesperson, Pule Mabe and his six co-accused has been postponed to June 17, with some of the accused seeking new legal representatives.
On Tuesday, the accused appeared briefly before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on charges linked to the alleged irregular tender for over 200 three-wheeler waste picker vehicles in 2017.
The state has alleged that Mabe, through his company Enviro Mobi, was irregularly awarded an R27 million tender involving the Gauteng Agriculture Department and the Ekurhuleni Metro.
Lawyers representing the accused have also asked the prosecution for further information regarding the charge sheet.
“We (want to finalise) all those processes so that we can move forward,” the defence said.
The State's allegations are based on a claim that the contract agreement prohibited upfront payments and only allowed payments to be made to the service provider after 50% of the job was completed.
Mabe and six others, including his wife Mmatlheko Mabe, were arrested last year with their case remanded to March 25 following their last court appearance in October.
All of the accused have denied any wrongdoing. Speaking for the National Prosectuting Authority (NPA), Phindi Mjonondwane indicated that Mabe and his wife are now represented by lawyer, Zola Majavu, who also represented Mabe's predecessor and former minister, Zizi Kodwa.
“Accused number five and seven, which is Pule Mabe and his wife, are now represented by Mr Zola Majavu as they have terminated the mandate of their previous attorney. Accused number two has also terminated the mandate of her attorney, but unfortunately, that attorney was not in court to withdraw, as per court procedure. So, she has been granted the opportunity," Mjonondwane said.
Mjonondwane indicated that the state is ready to proceed with the next phase of the court case even though some of the accused have requested further disclosures, adding that all of the accused remain out on R30,000 bail each.