Mdluli's lawyer withdraws from the slush fund case due to lack of funds

Mdluli and his co-accused are accused of corruption, fraud and theft relating to the secret police slush fund.

Former Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Richard Mdluli, accused of looting the police slush fund, will have to apply for legal aid after his lawyer withdrew from the case due to a lack of funds.

Mdluli and his co-accused, former SAPS supply chain manager Heine Barnard and former State Security Agency (SSA) chief financial officer Solomon Lazarus, appeared briefly in the Pretoria High Court, where the trial was due to begin on Monday.

Delay

Mdluli’s lawyer Ike Motloung asked the court to postpone the trial pending permission to appeal a judgment dismissing the former crime boss’s review of the police’s decision not to fund his defense.

Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the Pretoria High Court had rejected Mdluli’s request for a stay.

“His application for permission to appeal follows the refusal of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to pay his legal costs.

“In dismissing Mdluli’s application, Justice Mudunwazi Makamu agreed with IDAC and emphasized that this matter has been on the docket of the court for a long time and that it prejudices the other two suspects who have recorded their readiness to proceed proceed with the lawsuit,” Mamothame said.

Uncertainties

Mamothame said Makamu has further indicated that Mdluli’s leave to appeal poses uncertainties that could force him to approach the Supreme Court (SCA) and the Constitutional Court if the ruling is not in his favor.

“The judge has adjourned the matter until Tuesday, November 5, 2024, so that Mdluli can approach Legal Aid South Africa to determine his eligibility for legal aid.”

Costs

Mdluli, Barnard and Lazarus are accused of corruption, fraud and theft relating to the secret police slush fund from the time they were employed by the Crime Intelligence Services SAPS, between 2008 and 2012.

These include payments for private trips to China and Singapore, private use of witness protection homes, the conversion of the property for personal use and the rental of Mdluli’s private home to the state to pay his bail, among other allegations.

Mdluli was jailed for five years for his conviction in September 2020 in connection with the kidnap and assault of Oupa Ramogibe in 1999. He was released on parole in July 2022 after serving a third of his sentence.