Winnie's co-accused 'a liar'

2003-03-05 11:24

Pretoria - Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's lawyer called her co-accused a liar on Wednesday.

"I am going to argue you are a pathetic, unmitigated, unstinting liar," Ishmael Semenya told broker Addy Moolman in cross-examination in Pretoria regional court.

Moolman and Madikizela-Mandela, president of the African National Congress Women's League, have pleaded not guilty to 60 charges of fraud and 25 of theft involving R942 360.

The State alleges that letters on the league's letterhead and bearing Madikizela-Mandela's signature were used to fraudulently get loans from Saambou Bank.

These were in the name of bogus league employees, including her daughter Zinzi.

The theft charges relate to amounts of R360 deducted from loan applicants' bank accounts for a funeral policy that allegedly did not exist.

A handwriting expert had testified that about half of the signatures - seemingly those of Madikizela-Mandela - were not really made by her, Semenya told to Moolman. This included the letter accompanying Zinzi's application form.

Needed money desperately

Semenya also stated that Zinzi did not sign the application form herself.

Moolman confirmed that the signature on Zinzi's form was not hers. He said she had a financial crisis at the time and needed money urgently.

Because she was in a meeting elsewhere in Johannesburg, she gave permission to Waki Gosani, an ANC employee, to sign the form on her behalf.

Asked whether he did not tell Gosani that was irregular, Moolman: "He said Zinzi needed the money desperately ... I think I spoke to Zinzi later to confirm that she had given permission. I am not sure."

Semenya also wanted to know why, on the league letterhead, Madikizela-Mandela's name was misspelt and her initials given as MW instead of NW.

Moolman said that it might have been a computer error or a mistake made by the person who typed the letter.

He insisted that Madikizela-Mandela, herself, had signed all the letters accompanying the loan application forms. At this point, Semenya accused him of lying.

- SAPA