Durban: Former eThekwini mayor and ANC heavyweight Zandile Gumede has finally spoken out after the State indicted her and her 20 co-accused on a raft of corruption, money laundering and fraud charges on Tuesday.
In a “thank” you note to her supporters who gathered outside court to offer moral support, Gumede said she was happy that, after almost two years of dithering by the State, the matter would soon go to trial.
She said the high-stakes corruption trial in the Durban High Court would offer her an opportunity to lay bare the truth.
“I would like to thank everyone for all the kind of support you have given me throughout this difficult journey. I know and understand how difficult it is to believe in someone’s innocence, especially when they are brought to court , but your support has overwhelmed me in so many ways. I appreciate it and I am indeed humbled.
“Finally, we are at the stage where we will be able to tell our side of the story. Truth will now have its moment. Like they say: ‘Truth is the first casualty in any war,’’ and that's what we have witnessed. Lies have short legs,” Gumede said on Thursday morning.
The corruption case was heard by the Durban Commercial Crimes Court which referred it to the high court for a pretrial hearing. The first high court hearing is scheduled for June 14 this year.
Gumede said the ANC must unite and defeat the agenda of a coalition government. This was in apparent reference to disputed comments attributed to DA leader John Steenhuisen, who reportedly said his party was open to a coalition with the ANC in 2024, on condition that the ruling party was led by its president, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We must stand together and oppose the agenda of collapsing the ANC. We must work hard to regain the confidence of our communities in order to defeat the agenda of ‘coalition government’. Our task is to see the full implementation of radical socio-economic transformation and giving back to the rightful owners,” she said.
In its indictment against Gumede and others, the State alleges that the looting of the R320 million (excluding VAT) Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender in 2017, was carried out under the guise of radical economic transformation.
The State further alleges that Gumede, on ascending to the municipal throne, spoke about “radical economic transformation” and said the policy would be explained to ANC councillors by senior councillor Mondli Mthembu (also from the ANC and a backer of Gumede), one of the co-accused in the high-profile trial.
Gumede and Mthembu then allegedly co-opted other councillors (whom they once told in a meeting that they were aware of their personal financial difficulties) to make sure that they benefited from the awarding of the waste contract.
Gumede and Mthembu then allegedly roped in the suspended eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza to join them in their alleged grand scheme of corruption. It was Nzuza who realised that there was a senior municipality official called Ray Rampersad who was giving them a headache.
To bypass Rampersad, Nzuza, with Gumede’s blessing, allegedly appointed Robert Abbu as head of special projects to allow the alleged looting to begin.
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