Corruption-accused former Denel bosses to plead not guilty to charges against them
Former chairperson Daniel Mantsha and the man who served as CEO, Zwelakhe Ntshepe, appeared in the Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on Friday.
Picture: X/DenelSOC
JOHANNESBURG - A decade since grand corruption at state arms company Denel, the men who were at the helm have had their day in court.
Former chairperson Daniel Mantsha and the man who served as CEO, Zwelakhe Ntshepe, appeared in the Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on Friday.
They’ve been charged with fraud, corruption and flouting the Public Finance Management Act through their dodgy dealings with the Guptas and their associates.
On Friday, the court granted both men R30,000 bail each.
The alleged crimes by Mantsha and Ntshepe date back to 2015 and 2016.
They are accused of irregularly approving the Denel Asia joint venture with Gupta-linked VR Laser South Africa.
They are also accused of lying to the then public enterprises minister, Lynne Brown, in order to secure a grant to enter into the venture.
Both of them said they intended to plead not guilty to the charges, with Ntshepe dismissing the charges as frivolous during his bail application.
Despite the State arguing for bail to be set at R100,000 because of the seriousness of the charges, the court agreed with the defence that the amount was exorbitant and granted them R30,000 bail each.
The men will return to court in May.