NPA to appeal VBS trial separation ruling
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) granted an application on Friday by VBS Mutual Bank heist accused, former Limpopo ANC treasurer Danny Msiza and former ANC Youth League leader Kabelo Matsepe, to have their trial separated from that of their co-accused.
However, the court denied their second application for a temporary stay of prosecution pending the outcome of their petition to the SCA to challenge the High Court's dismissal of their application for further particulars, News24 reports.
That application was filed after the High Court refused to grant them leave to appeal at the end of June.
NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said the ruling ‘is going to be very prejudicial to the state. It is going to overstretch the resources of the state because you will have witnesses who will be brought in twice, a new judge coming in, and new court officials who will have to assist with ... the two trials. But of importance to us and concerning, is the fact that our witnesses will have to testify twice, and that's unfair to them’.
He said the NPA intended to appeal.
‘Once we get the full reasons, we will comprehensively put together a leave to appeal as we believe that a higher court will come to a different conclusion,’ he said.
During Wednesday's argument, former NDPP Shaun Abrahams, who is representing Msiza and Matsepe, argued that the state was taking too long to ‘provide key documents to us’.
He argued that the state had constructed its case against Msiza and Matsepe on the basis of an investigation led by Advocate Terry Motau SC and Werksmans Attorneys.
However, State Advocate Hein van der Merwe disagreed, saying evidence dated as far back as 2013 and 2015, the News24 report notes.
Masiza, Matsepe and 11 other accused were charged with theft, fraud, money laundering, corruption, racketeering and contraventions of provisions in the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
It is alleged that they looted around R2bn from the now-defunct bank between 2015 and 2018.
The case of Msiza, Matsepe and the 11 others was postponed to 9 September.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
