Richard Mdluli, former Crime Intelligence leader, may have to seek Legal Aid after his lawyer resigned from the corruption case due to a lack of cash.
Mdluli and his two co-accused, former SAPS supply chain manager Heine Barnard and chief finance officer Solomon Lazarus, are charged with corruption, fraud, and theft.
The charges originate from their time working for the state between 2008 and 2012, when they were in control of the police criminal intelligence department.
All three defendants face charges stemming from the alleged misuse of the police’s secret slush fund.
They are accused of plundering the police slush fund and will need to apply for legal aid when his lawyer resigned due to a lack of cash.
The claims include payment for private visits to China and Singapore, private use of witness protection houses, and the state leasing Mdluli’s private residence to pay his bond.
Among other claims, it is claimed that during one of Mdluli’s trips to Singapore in 2009, he spent some of the monies on personal costs, such as technological equipment, clothing, jewelry, and perfume.
Mdluli sought legal assistance from the police, claiming that the charges stemmed from his tenure with the SAPS.
However, he lost the application and filed an appeal against the SAPS judgment, which has yet to be heard.
On Monday, when the trial was scheduled to begin, Mdluli’s legal agent, Ike Motloung, filed a plea for a postponement to await the outcome of the leave to appeal.
According to Henry Mamothame, spokesperson for the Investigating Directorate against Corruption (IDAC), the court denied Motloung’s appeal for a postponement, prompting his departure from the case.
When Judge Mudunwazi Makamu denied Mdluli’s postponement plea, he stated that the matter had been on the court’s docket for a long time, which prejudiced the other accused, who had signaled that they were ready to proceed with the trial.
The judge also stated that Mdluli’s leave to appeal is fraught with uncertainty, which may force him to approach the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court if the verdict is not in his favour.
The judge postponed the case to November 5, 2024, to allow Mdluli to contact Legal Aid to see if he qualifies for legal assistance.
