Former ANC cabinet minister Zizi Kodwa has filed a legal bid to have corruption charges against him dropped.
According to a report by News24, Kodwa’s lawyer, Zola Majavu, on Thursday told the specialised commercial crime court in Palm Ridge south of Johannesburg that the bulk of representation he made to the Gauteng director of public prosecutions on Kodwa’s behalf point to shortcomings in the state’s case against him.
“The prejudice against my client mounts every day. I want the court to record that I submitted those submissions, and I have shared them with everyone involved in this matter,” Majavu told the court.
According to News24, Kodwa’s co-accused, former EOH executive Jehan Mackay, made similar representations at Thursday’s court appearance.
Kodwa was arrested in June over alleged corruption and bribery linked to IT services group EOH Holdings. Kodwa was linked to Mackay, who is alleged to have channelled payments of R1.6-million to Kodwa. Mackay appeared alongside Kodwa in court on Thursday.
TechCentral reported in 2020 that Mackay had taken centre stage in corruption allegations involving payments to senior ANC figures, including Kodwa, who was the party’s national spokesman at the time.
Suspicious payments
Suspicious payments were made by Mackay, from his personal bank account, to Kodwa and to Siyabulela Sintwa, a personal assistant to former President Jacob Zuma at the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters, evidence introduced at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture showed.
EOH subsidiary Tactical Software Solutions (TSS) – founded by Mackay and his father Danny and sold to EOH in 2011 for R130.5-million – allegedly paid off corrupt politicians by making payments to Mackay’s personal bank account at FNB, from which he then transferred money to various ANC bigwigs, supposedly for favours for winning government contracts.
Read: Zizi Kodwa resigns as cabinet minister following arrest
“All I can tell you with a straight face is that having read the docket as provided to me by the state, having read the charge sheet and the information that they are hoping to substantiate the charges on, their case is palpably weak,” said Majavu. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
