Africa-Press – South-Africa. The R30 million tax fraud case against Eskom’s former senior manager for capital contracts, France Hlakudi, has again been postponed so that his new lawyer can get up to speed with the facts of the case.
Hlakudi previously told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that he would represent himself in the trial, but then changed his mind to request legal aid. On Tuesday his application was approved.
His state-appointed lawyer will next represent him in court on June 15, when the case resumes. But it may again be postponed to give his lawyer more time to consult with his client.
The state has accused Hlakudi of 44 fraud and tax evasion charges, some dating back to 2005, related to his companies Hlakudi Translation and Interpretation, Coxinel Chicken, and Bon Services Telcom. It has accused him of not filing tax returns for the three companies, not registering them for VAT, or falsely claiming they had no revenue.
Hlakudi is also one of five defendants in a separate multi-million rand fraud case linked to Kusile power station in Mpumalanga. He and his co-accused face charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering related to contracts worth R745 million at the power plant.
The Kusile case has also faced repeated delays caused by Hlakudi changing lawyers.
At the most recent hearing in early May, Hlakudi’s lawyer asked the court to remove him as his legal representative because Hlakudi did not pay him. The case was postponed until early August.
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