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ANC deputy Bongani Bongo confirmed that he had received a phone call from the Hawks, asking him to appear in court on Wednesday, October 28. (Photo: Elmond Jiyane / GCIS)
The former Cabinet Minister will appear in court on charges of fraud and corruption in connection with land deals worth nearly R124 million in Mpumalanga.
Not long after he chaired a meeting of the home affairs committee in Parliament, it emerged that an arrest warrant had been issued for the arrest of Bongani Bongo related to his work as a Mpumalanga official eight years ago. Bongo, who was charged with bribery in a separate case in 2019, still serves as a member of Parliament and committee chairman.
The report of Bongo’s arrest warrant on Tuesday had the same tone as the wrong report in early October about the impending arrest of ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule, but the Hawks have confirmed the story even though they did not name Bongo (suspects in one case are not named before appearing in court, except if it is in the public interest to appoint them, for example if they are public representatives).
in a statement on Tuesday, the Hawks said “11 suspects are expected to be arrested for alleged fraud and corruption in connection with dubious land deals amounting to nearly R124 million.”
The charge dates back more than eight years, until February 2012, when a complaint was first filed against the municipality of Msukaligwa, around Ermelo, about three farms bought by the municipality at hugely inflated prices, sometimes up to double the price. The arrested suspects allegedly colluded and created an intricate paper trail to justify the deals, resulting in the Mpumalanga human settlements department suffering a total loss of just under R124 million.
Bongo was a little-known official, the head of legal services, in the department at the time, and the sunday time In 2017 it reported that 1.5 million rand of the money was deposited into the account of a company owned by Bongo’s wife, Sandile Nkosi, and was used to build a house in Nelspruit. There were also allegedly two payments of R300,000 each for a BMWX5 and an Audi RS5, registered in the name of his younger brother, Joel.
Bongo yesterday confirmed to Tshidi Madia of EWN, who had received a phone call from the Hawks, asking her to appear in court on Wednesday, October 28. Madia said he sounded “laid back,” perhaps because this isn’t the first time the Hawks have come after him.
Bongo is currently on bail Rand 5,000 for a case at the Cape Town Magistrates Court where he was charged with allegedly attempting to bribe a lawyer for the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission into irregularities in Eskom during his four months as Minister of State Security, from October 2017 until February 2018.
However, Bongo’s imminent prosecution for his alleged crimes in Mpumalanga is significant for the same reasons as his arrest in November 2019. constituted some of the first shots at corrupt officials.
There is also another reason. His case could also have major implications for Vice President David Mabuza. He was prime minister at the time and in that position for almost a decade, from 2009 until his promotion to his current position in 2018. Mabuza still wields a lot of power in the province, where the ANC has not had a successful elective conference to date. to replace it.
Bongo is considered to have had a long-standing relationship with Mabuza, who is alleged, in a new book by Rehana Rossouw titled Predator Policy, having been involved in fraudulent land claims, cheating the poor out of their money. This new case against Bongo could also be a warning to Mabuza, who was the prime minister at the time of Bongo’s alleged wrongdoing.
About two months after his first court appearance in January, Bongo went home and hosted an event where the elders of his hometown, Siyabuswa, also gathered to honor him. There, 013 News reported He wore a fur vest and carried a stick, and he assumed a defiant posture. He also built a well for his home community, which is often affected by water shortages.
Bongo was promoted by former President Jacob Zuma as an unknown and appointed to the key ministry of state security in 2018 when he was already being investigated for allegations of wrongdoing in the human settlements department. DM
This headline was edited at 9:30 am on October 28, 2020, for greater precision.
