The former Joburg mayor expressed shock that some of the people on the witness list were individuals from his community.
Former Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda sent a warning to those he accuses of orchestrating the fraud charges against him.
Gwamanda made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking to the media ahead of his appearance at the Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto, where he faces fraud charges.
The former City of Joburg mayor is accused of defrauding Soweto residents while running a funeral policy scheme through his entity, iThemba Lama Afrika, between 2011 and 2012.
He turned himself in to authorities in October after criminal complaints were filed against him by some of the alleged victims.
Gwamanda complains about missing documents
Outside the court, Gwamanda declined to discuss the merits of the fraud case against him, citing the sub-judice rule.
The former mayor, who was dismissed as MMC for Community Development in November last year, claimed that critical documents were missing from the initial docket.
“One of the documents missing is a charge sheet. I am said to be allegedly standing before court for fraud, but there is no charge sheet that indicates the fact that I am charged for that.
“So we are here today to gather all the missing documents because we’ve requested them through our attorneys and they have not been furnished till today,” he said.
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Gwamanda also criticised former Joburg mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) member Mpho Phalatse, who brought the matter to public attention.
“Dr Mpho Phalatse has got an imagination of what may have transpired during the time when Ithemba was in effect.
“I don’t remember at any point she being close to the community, she being a witness to whatever may have transpired. But according to her, I know she called me several names on TV, including a criminal.
“However, the reason why I have subjected myself before law enforcement and the court is so that a process can unfold that would ultimately determine what exactly is these charges that are being laid against me,” the Al Jama-ah councillor said.
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He claimed that some of the complainants had benefited from the funeral scheme.
“What I’ve noticed is the fact that several of them have actually benefited through funerals, either for neighbours, for their family members or for someone closely related to them.
“Several of the people are on that particular witness list and there’s proof to that effect.”
Gwamanda alleges fraud case politically motivated
Gwamanda, who is out on bail, further expressed shock that some of the witnesses were individuals from his community.
“These are people from my community that I worked with. These are people that I assisted when they could not do things for themselves even before the business started.”
He maintained his innocence, suggesting that the charges against him were politically motivated.
“I said what I did wrong was for a township boy who they perceived to be uneducated without political education and without having climbed up the ranks the way that they did, becoming a mayor of the City of Johannesburg, and to them, that was unacceptable.
”And in that regard, it’s whereby they tried to find anything that they could use to bring me down. Didn’t work; still won’t work because after this, I’m coming for them.”
The case was postponed to 25 February to allow Gwamanda to make representations to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), facilitate the disclosure of additional information, and set a trial date.
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