Four angry women have propelled a three-year investigation which is set to shake the foundations of the magistracy in KwaZulu-Natal and raise wider questions about the credibility of our lower courts.<\/p>\n
By next week KwaZulu-Natal regional court president Eric Nzimande must provide reasons to the Magistrate\u2019s Commission as to why he should not be suspended, pending the finalisation of misconduct proceedings.<\/p>\n
The commission has been tight-lipped about the nature of the charges, but amaBhungane has had sight of several documents that give an indication of what has been found \u2013 and what a struggle it has been to get the investigation to this point. Investigative journalism takes time and money. Help us do more. <\/span>Be an amaB Supporter.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n It should be noted that the evidence is untested and amaBhungane\u2019s knowledge is partly based on an incomplete draft of the investigation report as it stood at May 2017 \u2013 but still, in the words of one source close to the investigation, the picture is \u201cscary\u201d.<\/p>\n In summary, Nzimande is suspected of offering acting magistrate positions in the regional courts in exchange for cash, which he seemingly needed to feed a gambling habit.<\/p>\n Worse, it appears he enabled \u2013 directly or indirectly \u2013 the formation of a network of judicial officers who are allegedly using their position to pervert justice on behalf of criminals.<\/p>\n In particular, Nzimande\u2019s alleged patronage network appears to overlap partially with a group of court officials in northern KwaZulu-Natal who are alleged to have taken bribes \u2013 particularly around poaching cases, although, as we shall see, this was exposed because of a rape case.<\/p>\n Nzimande, through his attorney, was provided with detailed allegations for his comment. He failed to respond.<\/p>\n The delays in finalising the Magistrate\u2019s Commission probe raise questions about the commitment and structure of the commission as the statutory body that exercises discipline over magistrates.<\/p>\n The full response of the commission is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thinake Gumede is the person who first blew the whistle on Nzimande \u2013 though she is no heroine.<\/p>\n Gumede, a lawyer who was one of the acting magistrates appointed under Nzimande\u2019s watch, was herself investigated by the Magistrate\u2019s Commission after she was arrested in March 2015 for defeating the ends of justice.<\/p>\n According to a later report in the Natal Witness<\/em>, Gumede entered a police station premises and spoke to a witness who was due to testify in a rape case against one of her relatives.<\/p>\n Gumede was allowed to continue serving as an acting regional court magistrate even though a criminal case was opened against her.<\/p>\n Indeed, she seemed to think she was untouchable.<\/p>\n When the Witness<\/em> revealed in June 2015 that Pietermaritzburg\u2019s regional court prosecutors had unanimously lodged a complaint accusing her of being \u201cdiscourteous and unprofessional\u201d, she hit back, accusing her colleagues of incompetence and declaring that the dispute had its roots in jealously \u201cbetween permanent district court magistrates and outsiders who they believe ought not to be awarded acting posts in the regional court\u201d.<\/p>\n It appears it was only when her acting-appointment was terminated that she turned against Nzimande.<\/p>\n On June 30 2015, Gumede\u2019s acting appointment was not renewed by the deputy minister of justice, who makes such appointments on the recommendation of the regional court president \u2013 in this case Nzimande.<\/p>\n On that same day, Gumede mailed a formal complaint against Nzimande and copied in the minister\u2019s office and the Magistrate\u2019s Commission.<\/p>\n The allegations were pretty devastating. They included claims that:<\/p>\n Given Gumede\u2019s own tainted reputation, the commission moved, initially, with commendable speed.<\/p>\n By July 30, 2015 the commission had appointed two senior magistrates to investigate her allegations: Eddie Mashile, then chief magistrate of Johannesburg, and Teresa Swart, then acting senior magistrate at Germiston.<\/p>\n \u201cTeresa Swart is the hero in this story,\u201d says Jamie Joseph, who is a high-profile environmental activist and journalist \u2013 and also angry woman number 3.<\/p>\n \u201cShe [Swart] is up against the old guard\u2026 In her words, they have no balls,\u201d says Joseph (of whom more later).<\/p>\n Swart, when contacted, proffered a more diplomatic \u201cno comment\u201d, but her leaked May 2017 draft report offers some insight into the obstacles she faced.<\/p>\n According to the draft, the investigators subpoenaed the departmental computer that Gumede had used and also approached Gumede through her lawyer for an affidavit.<\/p>\n The investigators did not attempt to open the computer because they did not want to interfere with the chain of evidence, given that it was likely to become a criminal case and \u201cbecause of the allegations made by Ms Gumede that the Department of Justice is assisting to hide Mr Nzimande\u2019s wrong doings\u201d.<\/p>\n By early 2016, they had Gumede\u2019s preliminary affidavit which broadened the allegations, including claims that Nzimande would make sexual advances and insinuate that Gumede was indebted to him for her employment; he would allegedly tell her of other magistrates who would engage in granting him sexual favours in return for employment perks, such as being given less work.<\/p>\n The investigators had also subupoenaed Nzimande\u2019s gambling records from Durban\u2019s Tsogo Sun and Sibaya casinos.<\/p>\n The evidence led them to the view that they were obliged, under the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) to report the matter to the police.<\/p>\n Given the sensitivity of the case, on May 25 2016 investigators Mashile and Swart requested a directive from the commission on reporting the matter to the police and for guidance on the investigative and legal challenges it posed.<\/p>\n On July 31 2016, the investigators requested a response on the directive they requested in May 2016.<\/p>\n No directive was forthcoming and, on August 18 2016, Mashile withdrew as investigator. He sent a letter to the commission providing his reasons but declined to share them with amaBhungane, telling us it was for the commission to disclose.<\/p>\n The commission did not respond to a question about Mashile\u2019s withdrawal.<\/p>\n In September 2016, City Press<\/em> splashed Gumde\u2019s allegations against Nzimande under the headline, \u201cJudge in sex, cash-for-job scandal\u201d.<\/p>\n Swart notes caustically in her draft: \u201cNo directive was forthcoming in four months from the Commission but then on 13 September 2016 the above matter appeared in the local Sunday newspapers.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier the commission took the view that \u201cthis matter is not to be reported to the SAPS in terms of Precca. Mr Nzimande is to be first afforded an opportunity to respond to the allegations before any further steps be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n After the article appeared, criminal charges were laid and it was decided that \u201cthe progress of this matter be reported upon to the Chairpersons of the Magistrate\u2019s Commission and the Ethics Committee on a weekly basis\u201d.<\/p>\n The commission is chaired by Judge Frans Legodi and the ethics committee by advocate Cassim Moosa.<\/p>\n Moosa, on behalf of the commission, denied \u201cany allegation of dilatory conduct on its part in relation to the allegations of misconduct on the part of Mr Eric Nzimande\u201d.<\/p>\n He said the commission followed due process regarding the allegations of misconduct, as it was required to do. See his full response.<\/a><\/p>\n During November 2016, subpoenas were served by the police to obtain bank records for Nzimande and Gumede and the regional magistrates\u2019 office in KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n Swart also travelled to KwaZulu-Natal and pulled Gumede\u2019s leave files as well as the court logs for her cases at Pietermaritzburg and Camperdown.<\/p>\n By May 2017, the police had received some of the bank statements for Nzimande and Gumede and given Swart access to them. The draft report, dated May 22, reflects her effort to pull together the evidence available at that point. It is not a pretty picture.<\/p>\n The evidence as analysed by Swart shows that someone using Nzimande\u2019s non-transferable \u201cloyalty card\u201d visited the Durban Tsogo Sun more than 830 times between February 2003 and October 2015, including on 122 days in 2008.<\/p>\n Nzimande\u2019s cash \u201cbuy in\u201d amounted to R2\u00a0356 406. His approximate net losses amounted to R409 995 \u2013 including R88 000 in 2013.<\/p>\n On more than 100 days he was there before 4pm on a weekday \u2013 and on more than 120 separate days he was there until after midnight on a weekday.<\/p>\n Records for the Sibaya Sun from July 2007 to November 2015 do not have time records of the transactions but show he was there 342 times on weekdays.<\/p>\n The evidence supported many of Gumede\u2019s allegations, but also showed she was deeply complicit.<\/p>\n Swart reported that on March 19 2012, Gumede had paid R30 000 into Nzimande\u2019s account, and on April 1 2012 she was appointed by the deputy minister\u2019s office as an acting regional court magistrate.<\/p>\n The records assembled by Swart show that Gumede abused her position. She was constantly absent but was paid. She took leave despite occupying an acting post, meaning she was not entitled to paid leave.<\/p>\n The evidence suggests that Nzimande must have been aware of these blatant abuses \u2013 and indeed received complaints from prosecutors more than once.<\/p>\n Swart noted that in her view \u201cMr Nzimande breached his managerial duties and his oath of office. There is a corrupt motive for these payments.\u201d<\/p>\n The draft report analyses many examples of the delays caused by Gumede\u2019s alleged dereliction of duty. Two examples of prosecutor comments noted in the court log give a taste.<\/p>\n \u201c[The] matter was on the roll for trial all the witnesses were present. Ms Gumede informed the accused that the matter was crowded out in court. She wrote on the record that the witness had to complete a programme. The witness in this matter was 12 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCrowding out\u201d occurs when too many cases are set down for one day, but Gumede seems just to have used this as an excuse.<\/p>\n In another matter that had been set down for judgment, Swart records: \u201cMs Gumede entered on the charge sheet that the prosecutor crowded the matter out. Where in truth the prosecutor was ready and never addressed her. The prosecutor notes in her report: \u2018I am so disappointed on the reflection of the court\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n In one matter cited by Swart involving a rape where the victim was nine years old, the case was postponed 34 times \u2013 14 of those because the magistrate was absent.<\/p>\n Gumede did not respond to an emailed request for comment.<\/p>\n The probe Gumede set in motion revealed that her example was not an isolated case.<\/p>\n On the contrary, the evidence gathered by Swart suggests Nzimande was at the centre of a web of people who bought their positions of trust \u2013 and some who sold out the victims of crime for cash.<\/p>\n The draft report identifies a string of suspicious payments into Nzimande\u2019s accounts, including from a number of other court officials, including magistrates and prosecutors.<\/p>\n She widened the investigation to include allegations that Nzimande would receive payments from potential acting regional court magistrates and in return he would ensure that they were appointed.<\/p>\n She noted a further leg of inquiry: concerns that the acting magistrates that had entered into a corrupt relationship with Nzimande \u201cwould at times be placed by Mr Nzimande in a specific court to ensure a specific outcome for the accused person, for e.g. a murder matter would be placed before one of these magistrates and the accused would be acquitted or receive a suspended sentence or the matter would be struck off the roll\u201d.<\/p>\n She cited examples that she uncovered. We have not identified some of those implicated because we could not contact them for a response.<\/p>\n \u201c11 May 2015 [Ms A] made a payment in Mr Nzimande\u2019s bank account in the amount of R5,000\u2026 On 11 June 2015 Mr Nzimande send a motivation for [A] to be appointed\u2026<\/p>\n \u201c30 June 2015 [Ms A] makes another deposit in his bank account in the amount of R4,800\u2026 On 28 September 2015 he sends in another motivation to appoint [A].\u201d<\/p>\n There is no evidence presented that Ms A abused her position in court.<\/p>\n \u201cMs [B] was appointed as a Regional Court Magistrate about 3 years ago. She was a district court magistrate\u2026 with very limited criminal Court experience<\/p>\n \u201cShe was placed in a specialized Sexual Offences Court\u2026 by the Regional Court President [KwaZulu-Natal] Mr E Nzimande. It was apparent to all that she was out of her depth dealing with Sexual Offences matters.<\/p>\n \u201cHer average [travel allowance] per month is R21,000\u2026 A concern is that the officer, is using the [case] as a ruse to ensure the State pays for her visits to her home…\u201d<\/p>\n It is not clear from the draft report whether Ms B paid any money to Nzimande. There is no evidence presented that she abused her position in court.<\/p>\n From the draft report, there appears to be evidence that he deposited R85 750 into Gumede\u2019s bank account (or perhaps paid Nzimande via Gumede \u2013 the report is ambiguous) between June 2014 and June 2016.<\/p>\n There is no evidence presented that Mr C abused his position in court.<\/p>\n Evidence is presented that Ms D, a regional court prosecutor, paid a total of R66 550 into Nzimande\u2019s account: R16 650 in 2012; R11 600 in 2013; R9 700 in 2014; R17 200 in 2015; and R11 400 in 2016.<\/p>\n There is no evidence presented that Ms D abused her position in court.<\/p>\n It is clear that as Swart pursued her investigation, she became aware that some of those who had paid money into Nzimande\u2019s account were connected to a series of poaching cases in northern KwaZulu-Natal \u2013 including the controversial matter of alleged poaching \u201ckingpin\u201d Dumisani Gwala.<\/p>\n Gwala was arrested in December 2014 after an eight-month intelligence-driven operation in which he was sold rhino horn by undercover cops. When they tried to arrest him Gwala put up a fight, attempted to drive over a policeman and was shot in the leg.<\/p>\n In these cases, there are indeed allegations \u2013 unproven and in some instances vigorously contested \u2013 that court officials abused their position to violate the justice system and benefit criminals.<\/p>\n The man at the centre of these allegations is attorney Welcome Ngwenya, who also served stints as an acting magistrate \u2013 seemingly courtesy of Nzimande.<\/p>\n The draft report discloses five payments Ngwenya allegedly made into Nzimande\u2019s bank account between December 2013 and December 2014, totalling R30 000.<\/p>\n Swart also identifies cases where Ngwenya was appearing as a defence attorney in poaching matters in Zululand at the same time he was supposed to be an acting magistrate clearing the case backlog in Pietermaritzburg.<\/p>\n She notes: \u201cWhen comparing the dates in the charge sheets\u2026 I found that during Mr Ngwenya\u2019s acting stint in the Regional court in [Pietermaritzburg], he was legally representing an accused person who is to be alleged as the Rhino Kingpin.<\/p>\n \u201cNo leave forms were submitted by Mr Ngwenya during the days he represented the accused persons in court. Neither was any money deducted from his salary.\u201d<\/p>\n Ngwenya could not be reached for comment and appears to have gone to ground. We will see shortly why that might be so.<\/p>\n Swart\u2019s draft report notes that Linda made a R3 000 payment into Nzimande\u2019s account on February 7 2015 after she had been appointed for a three-month stint as an acting magistrate in the sexual offences court.<\/p>\n Swart notes: \u201cI notice although she was in the sexual offences court she dealt with two corruption matters, one that includes money laundering\u2026 In case [XXX] all the accused was found not guilty\u2026 A certain attorney by the name of [SS] appeared for one [of] the accused. A payment was made into Mr Nzimande\u2019s bank account by a [SS]. This specific payment has not yet been investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n The draft report also notes that Linda appeared as the defence attorney on September 5 2016 in a rhino poaching matter that \u201cwas the same case that Mr Ngwenya appeared in when he was an acting Regional court magistrate in Pietermaritzburg\u201d.<\/p>\n Linda did not respond to emailed requests for a response to detailed allegations.<\/p>\n It was the rhino connections that led Swart\u2019s investigative path to intersect with the fierce bushwhacking advocacy of Jamie Joseph.<\/p>\n Joseph was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa. The biography on her Saving the Wild<\/em> website says her \u201cchildhood days spanned the national parks of both countries, and these great wild places imprinted on her from a very young age\u201d.<\/p>\n It adds: \u201cAs a teenager growing up in the height of the ecstasy rave revolution, she stumbled into the dark side and gained insights into a criminal syndicate where money talked, and dealers walked. Her fleeting dance with the devil prepared her for an unexpected life as a wildlife activist twenty years later.\u201d<\/p>\n After stints in London and New Zealand, Joseph returned to South Africa in 2014 \u201cto join the war on elephant and rhino poaching\u201d.<\/p>\n She created the Saving the Wild<\/em> platform and began \u201cwriting stories from the frontline\u201d, the website notes, adding: \u201cSince the start of 2016 she has been exposing a notorious rhino poaching syndicate led by the accused rhino poaching kingpin of Zululand, Dumisani Gwala.\u201d<\/p>\n It is true that no one has done more than Joseph to put a spotlight on the networks of corruption decimating Zululand\u2019s rhino population \u2013 and she was highlighting the easy bail and lenient sentences enjoyed by poachers in some Zululand courts long before anyone else had heard of Welcome Ngwenya.<\/p>\n In January 2016, she wrote: \u201cMagistrate Ngcobo has a long history of letting off rhino poachers with a slap on the wrist or a small fine. Gwala\u2019s defence attorney is Ngwenya, the same attorney that defends most of the poachers in KwaZulu-Natal. How these poverty stricken poachers can afford an attorney is still a mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n A year later Joseph\u2019s high profile and her willingness to call out Ngwenya made her a natural harbour for two whistle-blowers who claimed to know Ngwenya\u2019s secrets.<\/p>\n This heroine can\u2019t be identified \u2013 she is known only as \u201cTortoise\u201d \u2013 but she set in motion the exposure of Ngwenya in a more profound way than Swart\u2019s collection of bank statements could ever achieve. She connected Joseph to another source \u201cFresh\u201d \u2013 the hero of this story.<\/p>\n Joseph sets out the events in an affidavit she prepared for the police.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the beginning of 2017, I was contacted through our NGO website, savingthewild.com<\/em>, by a person claiming to have information on corruption related to the Gwala case.<\/p>\n \u201cI immediately called state advocate Yuri Gangai who is prosecuting the case. He instructed detective warrant officer J P van Zyl Roux to accompany me to meet with the sources…<\/p>\n \u201cVan Zyl Roux recorded their affidavits during February 2017. In the affidavits accusations regarding corruption between magistrates, prosecutors and police are highlighted\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cTo confirm the content of the affidavits by the sources we arranged a polygraph test and both deponents were tested on the truthfulness of the contents\u2026 No deception was indicated.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Joseph, for Tortoise the last straw was another case, the rape case, which Ngwenya was alleged to be manipulating to protect the alleged rapist.<\/p>\n That led Tortoise to contact Joseph and introduce her to Fresh, who claimed to be at the pit-face of bribing court officials.<\/p>\n Fresh\u2019s affidavit is hair-raising \u2013 and worth quoting at some length. He alleges that Ngwenya set himself up as the \u201cgo to guy\u201d in Zululand for criminals wishing to buy themselves out of trouble.<\/p>\n Fresh states: \u201cDuring the end of 2014 beginning 2015 [Ngwenya] asked me if I know anything about poaching. I said I knew the meaning but had never done it. He told me there was a guy called Gwala who was very rich, I asked rich with what. [Ngwenya] told me that Gwala was involved in rhino horns\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me that Gwala had been arrested. He wanted to do these cases because he was tired of the white people thinking that they were born with these rhino. Nobody is born with rhino in the hand. As long as these guys would continue poaching and paying him he would represent them to stop the white people from owning the rhino\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cHe was not worried and said he knew all the magistrates and prosecutors and they would win all the cases one way or another. As long as he got paid well he would look after his friends. All the poachers had to tell their friends it was Ngwenya, the hero, who was going to get them out.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresh claimed to know a lot about Ngcobo, the magistrate that Joseph criticised for his supposed leniency with poachers.<\/p>\n In his affidavit, Fresh states: \u201cAt that stage I also knew the magistrate who first worked on the Gwala case, Ngcobo. I had met Ngcobo at [Ngwenya’s] house when he had visited… During 2015 I was paying Magistrate Ngcobo on other cases where [Ngwenya] was representing the accused. [Ngwenya] would give me the money after which I would hand it to Ncgobo at the courts toilets at either Mtubatuba or Ingwavuma court. The amounts varied between ten thousand and fifteen thousand rand. Ngcobo would make sure that I counted the money in front of him in the toilet.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresh was also aware of a controversial case where Ngcobo had acquitted a crime intelligence police officer from Josini who had been arrested in another sting operation.<\/p>\n His affidavit states: \u201cI accompanied [Ngwenya] to Mtubatuba court where he spoke to Magistrate Ngcobo about the \u2026 case. It was agreed that he would acquit [the crime intelligence officer] in exchange for a payment of R30,000-00. After Mr Ngcobo acquitted [the officer] in court, I accompanied [Ngwenya] to Ngcobo\u2019s house in Mtubatuba where [Ngwenya] handed me the money which I handed to magistrate Ngcobo. [Ngwenya] had brought a bottle of Hennessey along which they drank together to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n The Teresa Swart draft report also discloses that a separate complaint was registered at the commission against Ngcobo, and he is currently being investigated for an alleged corrupt relationship with Ngwenya.<\/p>\n Detailed allegations were put to Ngcobo by amaBhungane.<\/p>\n In an email, he said: \u201cIn response to your correspondence I still maintain that the matter is still under investigation. I resort under the domain of the Magistrates Commission and I am subject to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and various relevant Prescripts that regulate the appointment and conduct of the magistrates.<\/p>\n \u201cI therefore refrain to comment and or answer any questions posed to me without the express and or written prior approval and authorization by the Magistrates Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresh\u2019s affidavit states: \u201cNgcobo and Khumalo, magistrates at Ingwavuma, became comfortable with me. With every case [Ngwenya] would ask me to contact the presiding magistrate and make arrangements for the handing over of the money in return for the magistrates handing down a lenient sentence or acquitting the accused.<\/p>\n \u201cNgwenya and the magistrates would either meet at [Ngwenya\u2019s] house in Pongola or in the parking area at Spar in Ingwavuma where they would discuss the cases. I would also be present during these discussions\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cOn another rhino matter at Ingwavuma Regional Court, where three accused were appearing, they paid Ngwenya R65,000-00 of which I was handed R15,000-00 to hand over to Mister Khumalo, the regional Court Magistrate. This was arranged at [Ngwenya\u2019s] house. Khumalo met him there.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the trial [Ngwenya] handed me R15,000-00 and tasked me to proceed to Ingwavuma Bridge where I would meet magistrate Khumalo and hand over the money to him\u2026 I did as instructed\u2026 After the trial [Ngwenya] was very angry with Khumalo who had not acquitted the accused as arranged, but had handed down more lenient sentences to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Swart\u2019s draft report notes that on December 7 2013 an M Khumalo paid R10 000 into regional court president Nzimande\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n Detailed allegations were put to Khumalo by email. He did not respond.<\/p>\n Fresh states: \u201c[When the] Gwala case was moved to Ngwelezane court [Ngwenya] handed the defence over to Mpume Linda. He was keeping a low profile because of a reporter, Jamie Joseph, who was making life difficult for him. He however was still influencing the case.<\/p>\n \u201cI was present when the magistrate presiding over the case at Ngwelezane court, Mister Shandu, arrived at [Ngwenya’s] house in Pongola. Mpume Linda was present as well. They discussed the case and it was agreed that Shandu prolong the case until the state would make mistakes and he could acquit Gwala.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it did not work out he would sentence Gwala to a light sentence of community service. I was given R3000-00 to give to Shandu as an initial payment so that Shandu would not be too hard on Mpume Linda in court. Further payments would be made if the case proceeded. I did as instructed and handed the money over to Magistrate Shandu.\u201d<\/p>\n It should be noted that Fresh\u2019s credibility and believability as a witness are undermined by his alleged criminal actions \u2013 as he described them \u2013 and the fact that his identity is withheld. Meanwhile, Shandu, who eventually transferred the case to another court, vigorously disputes it.<\/p>\n He earlier told the BBC, which first gave prominence to the matter: \u201cThese allegations are not coming to my ears for the first time. I have heard them before and nobody had the decency to give me the opportunity to respond before.<\/p>\n \u201cI never attended such a meeting. I don\u2019t even know where the meeting was held. I don\u2019t know the person making the allegations. I don\u2019t know the place. I don\u2019t even know Pongola.<\/p>\n \u201cI have only driven down the main road, I have never been to a residence there. I never ever attended such a meeting. I never received a bribe. Nobody sought to influence me. I have been a presiding officer for thirty years and this is the first time totally false allegations have been made against me in all that thirty years.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody has ever approached me for a bribe in my whole career of thirty years and I will never pay such a bribe.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to amaBhungane, Shandu added that anyone could look at the transcript of the Gwala case and see that he had acted without fear or favour as he had done throughout his career.<\/p>\n Fresh states: \u201cThere is another prosecutor [XXX]. She is well befriended with [Ngwenya]. She helps him with a lot of cases in the district court. The last case I remember is where a young boy of fourteen years old, was raped by a man called [S].<\/p>\n \u201cMpume Linda called me and told me to inform Ngwenya about the case. We went to see him. The man told Ngwenya that he had raped the boy but wanted the case to be over or disappear. The man told Ngwenya he had a lot of money. Ngwenya asked the man for R150 000-00 to which the man agreed. His sister paid an initial amount of R40 000-00 in cash.<\/p>\n \u201cShe handed over the money to me at Pongolo Engen garage, at the Wimpy. I handed the money to Ngwenya who called [XXX]. She first said she did not want to help as she had her own children. Ngwenya persuaded her. They agreed that the suspect lay low for a week after which he would be given bail. The suspect was granted bail as planned\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n It was this case that caused Tortoise to come forward.<\/p>\n In May 2017 Warrant Officer Van Zyl Roux, who had taken the affidavits from Tortoise and Fresh, <\/em>passed them on to his superior, Colonel Jason McGray.<\/p>\n He knew McGray was conducting a criminal corruption investigation that overlapped with the allegations made by Tortoise and Fresh.<\/p>\n Meanwhile the Gwala case dragged on and prosecutor Yuri Gangai eventually resolved to bring an application for the recusal of Magistrate Shandu, based on the allegations by Fresh.<\/p>\n To this end, he contacted Joseph, Van Zyl Roux and McGray to prepare affidavits in support of the recusal application.<\/p>\n Joseph states in her blog: \u201cMyself and two investigating police officers were requested to write affidavits in support of Advocate Gangai\u2019s application for the recusal of Magistrate Shandu. On Friday 6 October we all made sworn police affidavits.\u201d<\/p>\n McGray states in his affidavit: \u201cI am presently investigating the allegations of corruption mentioned between police, prosecutors and magistrates and I have brought these allegations to the attention the magistrates commission and the head of detectives Major General B Naidoo who has reported the matter to the Department of Public Prosecutions head KwaZulu Natal\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He notes: \u201cI do believe from the specific cases mentioned and the intimate knowledge the deponent possesses of these incidents, the deponent must have been personally present or involved in the specific acts referred to, due to the fact that the cases and details of the suspects referred to were not all public knowledge\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Referring to Fresh\u2019s claim that Magistrate Shandu, who was presiding over the Gwala case, had accepted cash from Ngwenya, McGray stated: \u201cI cannot disprove these allegations at this stage and based on the authenticity of the other allegations in the affidavit, it is believed that it would be in the interest of justice to avoid any semblance of corruption or bias to have the matter moved and tried before a magistrate who will be deemed totally independent.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on these affidavits, Joseph says, prosecutor Gangai was preparing to launch the recusal application on Monday, October 9 2017.<\/p>\n Joseph writes in her blog: \u201cOn Saturday 7 October, Advocate Gangai called me to tell me I no longer need to be at court on Monday as, in the final hour of Friday, he was replaced as the prosecutor on the Gwala case. The order came straight from the top\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n That decision leaves a bad taste, seeing as Gangai has previously handled most of the high-profile poaching cases in KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\nAngry woman No 1<\/h5>\n
\n
Angry woman No 2<\/h5>\n
No directive<\/h5>\n
Gambling<\/h5>\n
A tarnished whistleblower<\/h5>\n
The maladministration of justice<\/h5>\n
A network of corruption?<\/h5>\n
Magistrate A<\/h5>\n
Magistrate B<\/h5>\n
Magistrate C<\/h5>\n
Prosecutor D<\/h5>\n
The Rhino ring<\/h5>\n
Attorney ZW Ngwenya<\/h5>\n
Attorney Mpume Linda<\/h5>\n
Angry Woman No 3.<\/h5>\n
Angry Woman No 4<\/h5>\n
One hero<\/h5>\n
Magistrate Deuteronomy Ngcobo<\/h5>\n
Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo<\/h5>\n
The Gwala case and Magistrate Kwazi Shandu<\/h5>\n
The child rape case<\/h5>\n
How high does it go?<\/h5>\n