Yengeni loses appeal
2005-11-11 10:30
Pretoria - Former ANC chief whip Tony Yengeni lost his appeal against a fraud conviction and four-year jail sentence in Pretoria High Court on Friday.
Hearing the appeal last month, two judges grilled the state for supporting the former ANC chief whip in his bid for a more lenient penalty. The prosecution had asked for his sentence to be reduced to a suspended sentence of 18 months.
Yengeni was convicted in 2003 of defrauding parliament by failing to disclose a near 50% discount on a luxury 4X4 Mercedes Benz.
Initially charged with corruption and fraud, he was found guilty of the lesser charge in terms of a plea agreement with the state.
The car deal was arranged by a representative of a bidder in the government's arms acquisition process. Yengeni was then chairperson of parliament's joint standing committee on defence, which oversaw the arms deal.
Yengeni claimed former prosecutions head Bulelani Ngcuka promised him a R5 000 fine in exchange for his guilty plea to a lesser charge.
Maintaining his innocence, Yengeni said he agreed only to avoid a protracted and expensive trial.
The claim has been denied by Ngcuka.
Yengeni resigned as an MP two weeks before he was sentenced, and is out on R10 000 bail.
- SAPA