Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Richard Mdluli will not be filing a response to the State’s court application to stop what it calls “unreasonable delays”, which have seen the prosecution stalled for more than a decade.
Mdluli and his co-accused, former CI supply chain manager Heine Barnard and former chief financial officer of the State Security Agency Solomon Lazarus, appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
The three men face a myriad of charges relating to the alleged looting of an SSA slush fund.
Mdluli’s advocate told the court that they had initially drafted answering and opposing papers to the State’s application, but would no longer be filing anything.
Instead, they will only be making legal submissions when the application is heard.
Multiple delays
News24 previously reported that the State, in its application, asked the court that the matter be remanded for pre-trial before 20 July.
Once a trial date has been determined, it should proceed irrespective of whether there are any applications by Mdluli that are still pending.
SAPS will not fund trial of former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli
The State brought the application after Mdluli announced he would be reviewing the police’s decision to deny him legal funding.
However, according to an affidavit in support of the application, dated 12 April, Mdluli has yet to file the review despite learning that the SA Police Service had denied him funding almost four months ago.
This has not been the first delay either. The matter has been delayed multiple times since Mdluli was initially arrested on 21 September 2011.
These delays include:
Private trips to China, Singapore
Mdluli and his co-accused have been charged with multiple counts of corruption, fraud and theft relating to the alleged looting of a Criminal Intelligence slush fund between 2008 and 2012 when the accused were at the helm of CI.
These payments related to private trips to China and Singapore, the private use of witness protection houses, the conversion of properties for personal use, and the leasing out of Mdluli’s private residence to the state to pay his bond, NPA Investigative Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said.
According to a scathing indictment, Mdluli also allegedly made sure several members of his family were appointed as CI agents and given vehicles.
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