Durban — Reacting to the threatening of a witness in the Zandile Gumede and co-accused fraud and corruption trial, by shooting at her home, DA eThekwini caucus leader Thabani Mthethwa has referred to the incident as exposing a criminal syndicate.
Mthethwa said the DA in eThekwini noted with concern another postponement of the R320 million Gumede fraud case due to the alleged shooting at a State witness on Saturday.
He said according to reports, the witness who was due to testify on Monday against Gumede was unharmed.
“The DA strongly condemns this incident which appears to be a threat and intimidation tactic by criminals who might be attempting to prevent the witness from providing crucial evidence in this multi-million heist,” Mthethwa said.
He said this case had robbed the people of eThekwini of crucial services and ensured monies belonging to residents were looted.
“We call upon enhanced witness protection on this case so that witnesses can freely provide sufficient evidence to ensure there is successful prosecution on this matter and the case serves as an example to those who are hell-bent on looting our city at the expense of service delivery,” Mthethwa said.
On Tuesday, the Daily News reported that State witnesses were fearful of testifying in the Gumede trial after one of them was allegedly threatened over the weekend.
Police are expected to give the court feedback on Friday as to what measures had been put in place to protect the witnesses.
On Monday, State prosecutor Ashika Lucken said a witness could not come to court to testify after a shooting incident at her home on Saturday. It is alleged that a bullet might have struck her bedroom window.
Recently, the Daily News reported that key witness Mbuso Ngcobo, head of the eThekwini Municipality’s investigation arm, the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), was forced to resign after receiving death threats.
Ngcobo’s unit investigated the more than R400m Durban Solid Waste tender scandal before the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI-Hawks) took over.
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