Africa-Press – Eswatini. It was only a matter of time before businessman Walter Bennett took his seat at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the allegations of malpractice at the Master’s Office.
The businessman has made it his business to speak out against corruption and malfeasance and yesterday he made his appearance before the commission.
Armed with loads of papers, Bennett took at least four hours while making his submission, sensationally claiming that there were syndicates in this country involving lawyers, auditors, accountants, banking institutions and fund managers, which he warned needed to be dealt with.
The former Senator left no stone unturned in his submission, especially the Master’s Office, whose conduct and officials he accused of colluding with lawyers.
He told the commission he had the proof that could stand in a court of law and often referred to the pile of papers as he made his submission.
In a gripping presentation, punctuated by a 15-minute break when the commission Chairman Judge Majahenkhaba Dlamini called for a recess, Bennett also took aim at an auditing firm giant, which he accused of fraudulent conduct, questioning how the firm was still being given business in the country.
Bennett further questioned why audit companies are not being audited themselves, after alleging that the firm in particular had involved itself in many questionable business deals.
“Who audits the auditors?” he rhetorically asked.
Meanwhile, on the case of the Master’s Office, he reported his involvement in the estate of Ntonto Vilane, who Bennett disclosed passed on in 1985. Bennett submitted that he purchased Vilane’s farms from the estate late in 1999 up until 2004.
At the time he mentioned Siboniso Dlamini was an executor and he then completed paying for the two farms.
Having paid for the farms, Bennett said he then petitioned the executor for the deeds of transfer, however to no avail as the properties were not transferred.
Bennett said this was followed by all sorts of allegations levelled against him, as he was accused of fraud yet this was not true. He stated that he then sought justice from the High Court in 2004 after Vilane’s eldest son had started processes to change the farms into his name.
“After this, one of the brothers committed fraud by faking the executor’s signature and approached EswatiniBank for a loan of E20 000 under false pretences. The matter was reported to the police,” he told the commission.
He then alleged that this was followed by a fraudulent court order dated 1992, which eventually allowed the farms to be sold for E1.9 million yet they were 1 200 hectares.
He said the sale was way below the valuation of the farm, which at the time was estimated to be worth E8 million. He informed the commission that this was clear money laundering and racketeering.
“When this happened, I had a lot of stress and even forgot I was married, as this was the most stressful time of my life,” he said.
He further alleged that one of the renowned seasoned lawyers at the time, who has since passed on, withdrew from the case involving the sale of the farm until another lawyer, whom he did not mention took over.
When he lodged a claim against the estate, Bennett informed the commission that he was told the estate was insolvent and E1.4 million was discovered to have been stolen in the estate, as some of the important documents at the time were missing.
He further alleged that the senior lawyer had an offshore account, which had E7 million and upon investigating further, the lawyer’s relatives were beneficiaries.
“What has the Master’s Office done to investigate the offshore account, where is POCA? Does it only apply to people using money from proceeds of selling cannabis? Who is supposed to pierce the veil of that trust account?” asked Bennett.
After engaging the courts, Bennett submitted to the commission that he attained ownership of the sale but had to sell some of his properties in order to pay his lawyers.
The businessman is also embroiled in another dispute over the estate of the late Crabtree at the High Court, with the executor of an estate he was a beneficiary of. This was after he was given a one per cent share of land in inheritance by Solveng Crabtree, a former businesswoman who owned Tonkwane in Mbabane.
He narrated that in her lifetime, Crabtree appointed her son-in-law, Alan Alexander McGregor as the executor of her estate before she passed on in 2012. It is the immovable property (land) which is a source of conflict. However, Bennett received his one per cent share of the proceeds after the property was sold.
In the estate, Bennett informed the commission that some of the immovable properties were sold for about E18 million and he received E100 000.
He further told the commission that he then sought the Chief Justice’s help in unravelling how the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) purchased the Tonkwane estate for E73 million from Dups Holdings, which had bought it for E28 million.
The transaction is alleged to have happened two months after Dups had bought the farm from the executrix of the estate for E28 million.
The judges that form the commission are Supreme Court Judge Majahenkhaba Dlamini (Chairman), High Court Judge Mzwandile Fakudze (Deputy), Judge President of the Industrial Court of Appeal Justice Sifiso Nsibande (Member), High Court Judge Maxine Langwenya (Member), Industrial Court Judge Lorraine Hlophe and acting Supreme Court Registrar Siphiwo Nyoni, who serves as secretary. This includes High Court interpreter, Bonisile Ndzimandze.
In response to this, Master’s Office’s Lindelwa Magagula asked Bennett to help with the case numbers of each estate file so that they can look for the files in their archives so a comprehensive report can be compiled and brought before the commission.
Before making his submission, the former senator had sought to bar the media from sitting in and follow proceedings inside the Industrial courtroom.
However, after a few minutes as the judges of the commission were seated, he then made his submissions before the commissioners.
Yesterday was the first time the commission presided over a single matter, which lasted for over four hours.
The commission then adjourned at 16:45pm as Bennett had still not yet done with his submissions.
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