The Free State government official who motivated for the appointment of Gupta-linked Nulane Investments to conduct an allegedly fraudulent R24.9 million feasibility study has turned State's witness - meaning he could face prosecution if he does not give honest evidence.
Shadrack Cezula had been appointed as the acting head of the Free State agriculture department's supply chain management division by its head, Limakatso Moorosi, in the months before she is alleged to have signed off on a contract between the department and Nulane.
It is the State's case the department paid R24.9 million to Nulane, a company owned and controlled by former Transnet Board member and Gupta ally Iqbal Sharma, for a fraudulent feasibility study for the Free State's flagship Mohoma Mobung project - the genesis of the alleged Vrede dairy project scam - between 2011 and 2012.