Former Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda maintains his innocence, saying the fraud charges against him are malicious and political.
Gwamanda stands accused of defrauding some Soweto residents in an alleged funeral policy scheme that ran between 2011 and 2012 through his then-company Ithemba lama Afrika.
He appeared briefly in the Protea Magistrates Court in Soweto on Tuesday.
Kabelo Gwamanda and his co-accused Mduduzi Zondo were back in the dock. The pair allegedly left residents who invested in the Ithemba lama Afrika funeral scheme high and dry when they failed to pay back their investments.
“It is people who were part of the business at that time and what I have noticed is that some of them have benefited through funerals, either for neighbors, for their family members or someone closely related to them several of those people who are on that witness list and there is proof to that effect so I was myself shocked to find out that these are people from my community that I worked with.”
Video: Kabelo Gwamanda – Former Johannesburg mayor expresses shock at witness list in fraud case
The former Johannesburg Mayor insists that the charges are fabricated. “They tried to find anything that they could use to bring me down, but it didn’t work, and still won’t work because, after this, I am coming for them.”
His defence team says it is not happy with the continuous postponements and outstanding documents.
“What is outstanding is the charge sheet and the charge sheet has been outstanding since we asked for it a couple of appearances before. The senior public protector said he will be putting the document together, but my impression is that because the docket is disorganised that is why they cannot put a charge sheet together,” says Defence Attorney Gregory Armstrong.
Gwamanda’s supporters believe the fraud allegations will not stick.
“None of those people from where we stand were defrauded by Kabelo Gwamanda himself,” says Siphesihle Jele, a Gwamanda supporter.
“I do think he is innocent and if we look at what he is accused of it is a business gone wrong,” says Anisa Mazimpaka, another Gwamanda supporter.
The accused will be back in court next month.
