Nqwazi’s protracted toilet tender fraud trial set to continue

Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi and her co-accused will return to court on Friday for the continuation of their drawn-out multimillion-rand toilet tender fraud trial.

On Thursday, the accused and their attorneys spent a long day in a cramped makeshift courtroom in the city’s commercial crimes court building, where expert witnesses testified from afar via a video call about bank statements pertaining to the matter.

Nqwazi is accused alongside housing boss Mvuleni Mapu, former ANC regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula, Morne van der Linde and his company HT Pelatona Projects, businesspeople Xolani Masela, Nwabisa Masela, Nompumezo Ngotsha and her company Thuthiko Logistics, as well as former DA councillors Mbulelo Manyathi, Trevor Louw and Neville Higgins.

They have all pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

It is the state’s case that Nqwazi and Mapu bypassed certain processes to award a R24.6m tender to HT Pelatona for the construction of 2,000 toilets in the metro during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the state, on April 17 2020 Mapu allegedly drafted a document as motivation for Nqwazi to approve the appointment of HT Pelatona, but did not outline why the prescribed tender process could not be followed.

Less than a week later, Nqwazi signed the document, and on the same day R400,000 was paid into the bank account of Thuthiko Logistics.

Days later, R300,000 was paid into the account of Nwabisa Masela, who then paid it over to her husband Xolani’s account.

The money was then allegedly paid to the account of Nqakula, who subsequently paid R100,000 into the accounts of Manyathi, Louw and Higgins for what the state claims was gratification after they helped remove the mayor at the time, Athol Trollip.

They are all out on bail.

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