THE investigation officer led a witness to implicate the accused during an unplanned meeting they had.
This is according to the witness who testified in the matter of the former eThekwini municipality mayor, Zandile Gumede, and 21 others at the Durban High Court on Friday, 1 March.
Gumede and 21 others, including the former city manager Sipho Nzuza, are facing charges which include conspiracy to commit corruption, corruption, fraud, money laundering, racketeering, contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems about a R300 million DSW contract.
The witness from the tender department in the eThekwini municipality, who started testifying in court on Tuesday, 27 February, told the court on Friday, 1 March, that the investigating officer called her to a filing room where she was questioned about a letter that she had written.
The witness was cross-examined by advocate Jimmy Howse, representing accused number five, Sandile Ngcobo, the former deputy head of the Supply Chain Management Unit.
During the cross-examination, advocate Howse asked the witness how she felt when she was summoned to a meeting with the investigating officer in the filing room.
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The witness said she didn't think it was a good idea that they called her to a filing room and not the office where she worked.
"I wasn't even aware that the investigating officer was in the building. Being called to the filing room, I felt that it didn't make sense with the manner it was done," she said.
Advocate Howse asked the witness what led her to inform her union representative.
The very soft-spoken witness said that was among the reasons she decided to inform the union.
"In the meeting, I was not given a case number. I also don't remember getting a letter informing me who they were and what they did. They also didn't give me a background," she said.
As Howse proceeded with cross-examining the witness, he put it to the witness that she was not happy with how the investigating officer treated her, and she said yes.
The witness further told the court that the investigating officer ordered her not to speak to anyone regarding the matter.
"In the meeting at the filing room, I felt that the investigating officer was leading me into implicating Sandile Ngcobo. The reason I say that is because of the manner they were asking me the question. They were asking me questions at the same time as well," she said.
However, the defence ended its cross-examination with the witness, and she was excused from court.
Judge Sharmaine Balton adjourned the matter to Monday, 4 March.
