Winnie to swap parly for prison?

2003-04-24 16:38

Pretoria - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela might hear on Friday whether her conviction on 68 criminal charges will force her to exchange parliament for prison.

"The evidence of the State was overwhelming," Pretoria regional court magistrate Peet Johnson said on Thursday.

The African National Congress Women's League president testified earlier: "I have heard nothing but a pack of lies in this court." But Johnson - who was assisted by two assessors - said: "In our assessment there is no reason for [the State witnesses] to falsely implicate her." He said Madikizela-Mandela had not been honest to the court, and pronounced her guilty on all the charges for which the State asked convictions - 43 of fraud and 25 of theft.

Her co-accused, broker Addy Moolman, was found guilty on the same charges, plus an additional 15 of fraud.

The two pleaded not guilty to 60 fraud and 25 theft counts.

The fraud counts relate to loans obtained from Saambou Bank, through brokerage firm Imstud, for non-ANCWL employees with the use of letters signed by Madikizela-Mandela and on the league's letterhead, stating that the applicants were in its employ.

The State did not provide proof for two of the fraud charges. After a handwriting expert testified that Madikizela-Mandela's signature was forged on the form in one of those cases plus 15 others, the prosecution did not pursue her conviction on those either.

Direct intent

Johnson said: "Both [accused] knew full well that the content of the letters were false, and that it would secure loans for people who did not qualify for them... Both accused had a direct intent in each case to defraud Imstud and/or Saambou." A loan scheme for ANCWL employees originated from a meeting between the two accused, Saambou and Imstud representatives and Dixie Seakamela, Madikizela-Mandela's personal banker, in July 2000.

The court rejected Madikizela-Mandela's contention that she attended that meeting in her personal capacity, as she had signed a letter of intent stating the contrary.

Johnson also spurned her claims that she had not read the letters accompanying the applications. Her assistant Humphrey Mafalala testified he had expressed concern about them.

Madikizela-Mandela denied this. "...She left no stone unturned to protect herself, calling him a drunkard and describing the evidence as a figment of his imagination," Johnson said.

43 letters, only 8 employees

He said the nail in the coffin of her defence was when police asked her how she would draw up such a letter to accompany a loan application, she gave them one with exactly the same wording as the ones she had signed.

Also, she had signed at least 43 letters, while she would have known the ANCWL only had eight employees.

Moolman claimed Willie Meuter, then Saambou group loans manager, gave him permission to apply for loans on behalf of non-ANCWL employees, accompanied by letters falsely stating they did work for the league.

Johnson accepted Meuter's denial of such an arrangement, saying he was not working for Saambou anymore by the time he testified and thus had no motive to lie to protect his own wrongdoing.

Besides, Moolman had already started applying for loans for outsiders before - on his own evidence - the meeting with Meuter had taken place.

Even if Meuter had given such permission, it would be invalid because he could not consent to his employer being defrauded.

Non-existent policy

Of Moolman, Johnson said: "He knowingly and with the intention to secure loans, submitted false information to Imstud and Saambou. It was not difficult to see the reason. He was paid a commission..." The theft charges pertain to premiums of R360 deducted from loan applicants' bank accounts for a non-existent funeral policy.

The court found Moolman had arranged for the premiums to be transferred from the applicants' bank accounts to that of the Funeral and Legal Advisory Consultancy (Falac) of which Madikizela-Mandela was a director.

Seakamela testified Madikizela-Mandela knew about the transfers.

"There is no doubt [Madikizela-Mandela] knew exactly where the money in Falac's account came from," Johnson said.

On three occasions she was involved in taking money from Falac's account. In two instances the amounts withdrawn were exactly the same as those transferred into Falac's account from those of the applicants.

Money from the Falac account was used to pay Waki Gosani, who Madikizela-Mandela claimed was in Falac's employ. The court, however, believed the evidence of other witnesses that he worked for her.

The case was postponed until Friday for arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence, as well as possible sentencing.

- SAPA