Former Msunduzi deputy mayor, Alpha Shelembe has acquitted of money-laundering by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court.
|||Durban - Former Msunduzi deputy mayor, Alpha Shelembe, said he could not mask the sheer relief that washed over him after he was acquitted of money-laundering by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court.
Shelembe’s wife, Joyful, was also acquitted, and the two left court hand in hand on Tuesday, smiling after months of being under the scrutiny of the courts and the media.
Shelembe said he and his wife had always maintained their innocence and they were happy that justice had been done and their names cleared.
“We are happy that this is now behind us and we can move forward,” he said.
Their acquittal came on the back of state advocate Makhosi Mthembu’s concession that the prosecution had failed to prove the corruption and money laundering charges against them.
Magistrate Jaco Jordaan agreed the state had failed to prove that Shelembe knew that six cheques, which were paid into the accounts of his and his wife’s businesses, were the proceeds of unlawful activities.
Not as fortunate, his co-accused, KZN businessman Lucky Moloi, was found guilty of corruption by Jordaan and will face the consequences next month.
Moloi went on trial earlier this year with former bodyguard Thembinkosi Xaba, Shelembe and his wife, and his sister, Nelisiwe.
They all pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Xaba and Nelisiwe were acquitted by Jordaan two weeks ago after an application for discharge by their advocate on the basis that there was no evidence implicating them in the crimes.
Neville Watts, an estate agent, and former Msunduzi councillor Themba Zungu, were also charged, but died before the trial could commence.
The accused were charged with colluding to persuade the uMgungundlovu District Municipality to buy the MIB Building in Langalibalele Street in 2003 at the inflated price of R6 850 000. The property in question was bought by the district municipality for office and parking space.
In his judgment, Jordaan found that Moloi, a councillor at the district municipality in 2003, had accepted R200 000 as commission, which he was not legally entitled to, for influencing the municipality to buy the property at an inflated price.
The magistrate rejected Moloi’s version that the money he received was owed to him by Watts.
Before his death, Watts pleaded guilty to his role in the property deal and was convicted and sentenced.
Moloi’s bail has been extended until June 20, when mitigation and aggravation of sentence will be argued.
Daily News