THE much-delayed corruption, money laundering and fraud trial of former mayor of eThekwini Municipality Zandile Gumede and others continues to have challenges and issues of time management.
On Monday, 16 October, Judge Sharmain Balton said it was unacceptable for people to be late. This is after Advocate Griffith Madonsela was not in court. Madonsela is representing the former city manager of eThekwini, Sipho Nzuza.
However, it was not the first time that Judge Balton complained about time management. Since the beginning of the trial, the court rarely starts on time, which is 10am.
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The accused or their lawyers come late to court, which results in the proceedings not starting on time. On Monday, 16 October, the matter was adjourned for an hour from 10.30am - 11.45am.
Meanwhile, the retired head of Durban Solid Waste (DSW) was on the stand and had led evidence. He confirmed the signing of invoices of the contractors who were awarded tenders to collect waste around the city.
The State prosecutor Ashika Lucken led the witness in his evidence, where he read out the invoices and confirmed his signature. Last week the state didn't have original certificates but had copies. The defence had demanded that they give the court the original documents. Gumede and others face charges of fraud and corruption in relation to a Durban Solid Waste tender over R300 million.
