'No concrete evidence': Gumede's team hits back in R300m corruption case

The former mayor of eThekwini Zandile Gumede’s foundation said no one has implicated her in the ongoing trial of R300 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender fraud. 

Gumede and 21 others are currently on trial in the Durban High Court for this tender.

They all face numerous charges, which include money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act. 

“As this case enters its seventh year, it remains critical to underscore that no witness has implicated the former mayor and others in the alleged wrongdoing,” read the statement by the Mama Zandile Gumede Foundation. 

The foundation has also criticised the State, saying it has suffered blows due to evidentiary inconsistencies and prosecutorial overreach. 

“The State’s reliance on Integrity Forensic Solutions (IFS), a firm linked to disciplinary controversies and its haphazard evidence presentation, risks tainting the prosecution’s credibility,” said Siphelele Jiyane, the spokesperson for Gumede. 

IFS was appointed by eThekwini Municipality’s investigation unit, City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), to investigate the DSW tender irregularities. 

Moreover, Jiyane expressed gratitude to Gumede's supporters, as some of whom still come to court and sit outside the courtroom as they are not allowed inside. He said their support fuels this fight for justice. 

“We will continue to expose the State’s procedural overreach and defend the integrity of public officials caught in this protracted legal battle,” Jiyane added. 

In a session of the trial, which will end on March 28, the court heard how the DSW unit was unable to screen new bidders for refuse collection in 2017 as the applications were 1 500, and most departments had closed. As a result, Section 36 of the Supply Chain Management policy was implemented. 

Section 36 allows for the deviation from standard tender processes in cases of emergency.

A State witness, who we cannot name as per court order, and is currently being cross-examined by the defence, told the court while leading her evidence-in-chief that during that time when Section 36 was used, the unit opted to invite experienced contractors for waste collection. 

The witness, who is a contract administrator, said while drafting documents to invite quotations of contractors and reports to the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC), the fourth accused, Allan Robert Abbu, kept on emphasising that this was an emergency.

Abbu at the time was the deputy head of the DSW unit. 

She said in drafting these documents, she was under pressure and made mistakes. 

According to the State, Gumede was the principal controller of the enterprise in that she, along with second accused Mondli Michael Mthembu, who was a councillor in the city and member of the Exco, determined the objectives, structure, operational dynamics, and the beneficiaries of the DSW tender. 

The State said Gumede, Mthembu, former city manager of eThekwini Sipho Nzuza, Abbu, and Sandile Ngcobo, the deputy head of Supply Chain Management, used her office to capture and co-opt role players in the political structures of the councillors in the city, administration, the supply chain management, as well as the financial components of eThekwini. 

“Caused these to be used to circumvent the outcome of the SCM processes of eThekwini in favour of business entities and individuals that were proximate to Gumede and Mthembu’s political organisation that they were affiliated with,” the State said in an indictment. 

The trial continues on Monday. 

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za