Cape Town - The R7.8m fraud case against the former acting municipal manager of Ratlou Local Municipality has been postponed for legal consultation and pretrial.
The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, sitting in Mmabatho, postponed the case against the former acting municipal manager, Cassius Sejake, 46, to June 12, 2023.
A presiding officer has been appointed to preside over the case, and Sejake’s bail of R5000 was extended until his next court appearance.
NPA regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame said that the State intends to file a notice for the court to investigate the numerous delays resulting in a series of postponements, attributed to Sejake withdrawing the services of his attorneys and appointing new ones.
“The NPA deems these delays to be unreasonable and hopes the court will make a ruling to halt further postponements on the matter,” Mamothame said.
Mamothame further added that Sejake was arrested by the Hawks, in September 2020, for allegedly flouting tender processes to the value of R7.8 million between 2018 and 2019 in his capacity as acting municipal manager.
“It is alleged that he failed, as the then accounting officer, to take reasonable steps to ensure that procurement processes were followed and observed.
‘’Service providers were allegedly appointed without a competitive bidding process,” Mamothame said.
Mamothame added that investigations have long been completed, and the State is ready to proceed with pre-trial conferencing for the trial to commence.
IOL