The first State Capture trial has entered its second week. Officials from the Free State Agriculture and Rural Development Department have made up the majority of the witnesses.
Three more Free State Agriculture and Rural Development Department officials testified in the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday about their signatures on documents that show payments made to Nulane Investments.
The State alleges that Nulane Investments — one of the accused — was paid R24.9-million for a feasibility study for the controversial Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy project. Five officials from the department — which spent R280-million on the flagship project — have testified so far., Iqbal Sharma, Ronica Ragavan and Dinesh Patel appear at the Bloemfontein High Court on 23 January 2023.
The eight accused include two former heads of the Free State Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi, and the department’s former chief financial officer Seipati Dhlamini. The other accused are Iqbal Sharma, Dinesh Patel, Ronica Ragavan and a second company, Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty, of which Ragavan was a director.
The latest official on the witness stand, Kenosi Thubisi, said he had been new in the department when he was asked to sign a document on behalf of his manager. During cross-examination, Thubisi became tearful and asked acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha if he could continue on Tuesday. The State is expected to call three more government officials to testify.
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