Defence Advocate Senior Counsel (SC) Michael Hellens questioned some of the documents. He said the documents seemed to have been altered and tampered with. 

On Wednesday 1 February 2023, the current Head (HOD) of the Free State Agriculture Department, Jankie Takisi Masiteng, started testifying about the department's policies and documents, related to the so-called Gupta Lieutenant Iqbal Sharma's Nulane Investments company.

Masiteng was being cross-examined by Adv. Kenny Oldwage on the search and seizure operation executed by the police during the investigation into the alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering case.

He was excused by Judge Nompumelelo Gusha and will be back once he has located the missing documents requested by Adv. Oldwage.

He was asked to undertake to furnish the teams with the documents once located.

Masiteng told the court that he could not locate these documents because at some point he had moved out of an old office to a new one.

The court has heard that when the department moved out of its old Absa Building in Bloemfontein and relocated to Glen College, some of the documents, including the originals, went missing and could not be recovered.

Adv. Oldwage is seeking documents which include a contract between Nulane Investments and four others which speak to the Supply Chain Management (SCM) policies.

On Wednesday, Masiteng refused to be drawn in on whether the Estina adjacent project, or Mohuma Mobung, was irregular, or if there was anything fraudulent about the controversial project.

ALSO READ: Free State HOD refuses to say Estina was fraudulent

Eight suspects, including government officials, service providers, and companies, are standing trial for allegedly looting the provincial government department's coffers.

Three government officials – including Peter Mbana Thabethe, Seipati Dhlamini, and Dr Limakatso Moorosi – are accused of paying an upfront payment of R12 million to the so-called Gupta Lieutenant Iqbal Sharma's Nulane Investments company in 2011.

The trio stand accused of contravening the PFMA during the alleged irregular deviation from the normal tender process.

However, whilst giving his testimony in court on Wednesday 1 February 2023, Masiteng mostly gave insight into the department's policies and documents handed over to the police during a search and seizure operation.

He told judge Gusha that some of the documents handed over to the investigating officers included two contracts between the department and the company.

Masiteng also came under serious scrutiny from the defence team, who accused of him lying in his testimony.

Defence lawyer, Advocate Daniel Mantsha, questioned Masiteng about the 2004 and 2011 policies of SCM.

Mantsha put it to Masiteng that the 2004 policy, mentioned in his affidavit, was in fact an outdated version.

Mantsha said the correct one was the 2011 policy, which Thabethe and others correctly followed when executing the provincial flagship project Mohuma Mobung and when most of the transactions were made to Nulane.

The trial is scheduled to run until 3 March 2023.

UPDATE: The trial has been postponed to Monday 6 February 2023. The state is expected to call two more witnesses – one a former police officer.

OFM News