Zandile Gumede: Stop arresting people before concluding investigations
As Zandile Gumede’s corruption case enters its sixth year, the former eThekwini mayor has called on the state to conclude investigations before arresting accused persons to avoid delays.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian this week, Gumede expressed her unhappiness about how her matter has dragged on, saying it had been “dilly-dallying” in court.
“Let the system work properly. This thing of arresting people and letting them rot in court is very painful. We have children, grandchildren, relatives, our church members and the community at large who are all eager to know what’s happening while we are just at the same place,” she said.
“It is worrying for the justice system to take this long. At some point our lawyers questioned why the investigators were still saying they were investigating after we were arrested. They just said it’s their right to do so. I wish that if you get arrested in South Africa, you must get arrested when your matter has been concluded so that it moves speedily. Sitting for years and only hearing that we are still for particulars is really frustrating.”
Gumede’s corruption trial is sitting at the Durban high court. She was arrested and first charged in 2019 with, among others, fraud, corruption and racketeering relating to a R320 million Durban Solid Waste tender.
Gumede is accused of personally receiving R2 881 350 in kickbacks for ensuring predetermined businesses benefited from city waste contracts. The ANC eThekwini region also received a R100 000 “donation” from three of Gumede’s co-accused.
The co-accused include former city manager Sipho Nzuza and other senior officials and councillors, all of whom are accused of inflating the contract from R25 million to more than R320 million.
This week, Gumede said her trial has left her financially drained and having to rely on her relativities to pay her legal representatives. She said all her bank accounts had been closed.
“We don’t have money to even pay the lawyers now. Our children and relatives are putting money together for us, it’s very difficult, lawyers are expensive,” she said. “My pension, which I was supposed to be enjoying with my children and grandchildren, I couldn’t enjoy it because I have to pay for this case. It’s been so difficult to pay.”
Gumede also cried foul over the decision of the court to bar the media from live coverage of the proceedings.
Last year Judge Sharmaine Balton banned the use of cellphones, laptops and cameras during the proceedings, citing security concerns for witnesses.
She said only the lawyers, journalists with notepads, the accused, the judge, the interpreter, the prosecutors and the witnesses were allowed in court for the hearing, with members of the public barred from attending.
“There was a ruling that TV, photographers, and cellphones were not permitted in court but they should come with notepads and pens. They also said no people were allowed in the gallery.
“When we were arrested, it was open for everyone to see, but now when the case is being heard, people shouldn’t know. Sometimes when you hear something from a third person, it is not as accurate as when you hear it yourself.”
In a statement dated Tuesday, the Mama Zandile Gumede Foundation said no witness had implicated its patron and others in any alleged wrongdoing.
It said the state’s focus has instead pivoted to technical compliance with procurement policies during the 2017 Durban Solid Waste tender extensions, adding that the defence maintains that deviations from standard processes were legally
justified under municipal supply chain management policy exceptions, particularly to avert public health crises caused by service
gaps.
“Our team of defence remains confident that the law and the facts are on our side. We will continue to expose the state’s procedural overreach and defend the integrity of public officials caught in this protracted legal battle,” the foundation added.