Lack of evidence led to Gwamanda's fraud charges being dropped, says legal team
Kabelo Gwamanda and his co-accused, Mduduzi Zondo, are now free after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped the charges on Tuesday morning at the Protea Magistrates Court.
FILE: Former Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda. Picture: Jacques Nelles/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda’s legal team said that a lack of evidence had led to his fraud charges being withdrawn.
Gwamanda and his co-accused, Mduduzi Zondo, are now free after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped the charges on Tuesday morning at the Protea Magistrates Court.
The pair were initially accused of defrauding Soweto residents through a funeral policy scam they ran between 2011 and 2012.
The case was on Tuesday was set down for the NPA to issue a trial-ready certificate.
Kabelo Gwamanda, former Johannesburg mayor, said the state always had a weak case against him with no evidence of any wrong doing.
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) February 25, 2025
Gwamanda said the case was politically motivated. TCG pic.twitter.com/bEPg1APeEv
But the State prosecutor told the court they were not able to secure the certificate and would be provisionally withdrawing all charges against the accused.
Attorney for both accused men, Gregory Armstrong, said that the State failed to gather enough evidence for prosecution despite having 21 months to do so.
"Where did it fall apart? They never had sufficient evidence. I've sat with the senior prosecutor on the last occasion and went through the docket and it was in such a disorganised state, it was impossible for them to put together - there were bank statements for incorrect entities, there were missing documents, I don’t think the matter has ever been ripe for trial."
Gwamanda said that the NPA's case was weak.
"The State had no choice but to withdraw the case because, as indicated previously, there is no evidence that points to any activities of fraud. It is an issue of a political attack."
The magistrate reminded Gwamanda and Zondo that their charges were provisionally withdrawn and could be reinstated in future should new evidence come to light.