Makwenkwe Bunu, who was part of the search and seizure operation of documents at the Department of Agriculture in relation to the so-called Gupta lieutenant Iqbal Sharma’s Nulane Investments company, finally testified on Thursday. He failed to make an appearance a week ago after the state prosecutor Adv. Peter Serunye revealed Bunu, who is a Butterworth resident in the Eastern Cape, couldn't be located even by the police in that area.

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Bunu, who has over 30 years of experience in the police, and his former colleague – also set to testify – have had their credibility, motive and conduct questioned. Defence lawyers questioned what they termed abnormalities in the process of attaining witness statements and also seizing documents.

Defence Adv. Kenny Oldwage raised issues about contradictory statements from Bunu and the current Head of the Department of Agriculture, Dr Takisi Masiteng.

Oldwage said whilst Masiteng was on the stand, Bunu and the other officer approached him requesting documents but in a twist of events Bunu denied that he was with the other officer to serve a search and seizure warrant.

Adv. Oldwage also accused the police of tampering with evidence by handling it very poorly and also not following basic rules.

He says the police, after seizing all relevant information from the department at its Glen College offices in Bloemfontein, booked it a day later at the Glen Police Station but failed to take it to relevant safekeeping.  

Bunu is still on the stand and Adv. Oldwage will continue with his cross-examination on Friday.  

On Wednesday, Adv. Oldwage (SC), among others, scrutinised the testimony of a state witness from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and senior financial investigator Thesele Rankuoatsana in the R25 million Estina adjacent trial in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.

Rankuoatsana gave a two-day testimony in court into the money flow between the Gupta associate's banking accounts, and how millions of rands were transferred from one banking account to another.

Adv. Oldwage, Adv. Bronwynne Forbay, and Adv. Michael Hellens (SC), whose clients were implicated by the report, questioned Rankuotsana's impartiality and independence.

The defence lawyers asked the senior investigator who helped the police investigate the Estina case, why he involved himself in the criminal investigation despite his mandate being strictly financial affairs.

ALSO READ: Defense attorneys question impartiality of state witnesses

The case is based on allegations that R24,9 million was paid to Nulane Investments to conduct a feasibility study for the Free State’s flagship Mohoma Mobung project.

The state alleged that Nulane had no employees and subcontracted Deloitte to produce the report.

Free State government officials and service providers stand accused of looting and stealing millions from the Free State Agriculture Department. It's alleged that officials, including Peter Mbana Thabethe, Seipati Dhlamini, and Limakatso Moorosi, allowed an illegal upfront payment of R12 million with no proper documents.

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