Suspended Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk is set to return to the specialised commercial crimes court in Gqeberha in just over a month after making a brief appearance on Wednesday morning.
Van Niekerk’s legal team is expected to make representations to court regarding the strength of the state’s case against their client when the matter returns on February 21.
The state will subsequently have the opportunity to respond to the defence’s submissions.
Van Niekerk faces charges of cyber fraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
He is accused of racking up legal bills in the amount of R575,000 in 2022 without authorisation.
He is said to have appointed legal firm Boqwana Burns Incorporated for various legal matters as the speaker of council in 2022, when in fact he had vacated that position at the time.
It is further alleged that Boqwana Burns was not on the municipality’s list of approved legal service providers.
He also had no authority to appoint the firm and allegedly attempted to circumvent the MFMA in the process.
Van Niekerk is also accused of soliciting a legal opinion from McWilliams and Elliott Incorporated, which cost R23,393.
Though McWilliams and Elliott was on the municipal service providers list, his request for a legal opinion had been denied by then-acting city manager Selwyn Thys.
Van Niekerk has since been suspended from his position as deputy mayor, and the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs is looking into the matter.
During proceedings on Wednesday, senior state advocate Ken Cooney informed the court that Van Niekerk’s legal team was in the process of forming written representations pertaining to their client’s innocence.
Van Niekerk’s attorney, Danie Gouws, confirmed that they would make submissions on the strength of the state’s case, after which the state would have the opportunity to respond.
HeraldLIVE
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