Case against Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor delayed again

The trial against Nelson Mandela Bay deputy mayor Gary van Niekerk was delayed yet again at the Gqeberha commercial crime court on Monday.

Prosecutor Ken Cooney asked that the matter be rescheduled for Tuesday, as the magistrate presiding over the case was sick. He said the magistrate had scheduled a doctor’s appointment on Monday.

The trial has been set down for this week.

The trial centres on Van Niekerk’s 2022 appointment of Boqwana Burns Incorporated to handle various legal matters at a cost of R575,000.

His position as speaker at the time was uncertain because city manager Noxolo Nqwazi had already declared vacancies in the council held by his party, the National Alliance.

It is further alleged that Boqwana Burns was not on the municipality’s list of approved legal service providers, and by appointing them, Van Niekerk attempted to circumvent the MFMA.

In October, Van Niekerk was found guilty of contempt of court after failing to appear in court, opting instead to attend a conference in Germany.

He paid a R2,000 fine.

Speaking outside the court on Monday, Van Niekerk said he had always maintained that he was looking forward to his day in court.

“I was excited to hear what the first witness was going to say. Obviously, we know who the witness is. It’s supposed to be [former Bay CFO] Selwyn Thys this morning, and just to hear his version of events as well.

“I’ve never spoken to him about the matter…. I’m looking forward to the fact that the truth will finally come out,“ Van Niekerk said.

“The only thing that’s been written about this case was that I stole R500,000 or whatever and committed a cybercrime, which is so far from the truth.

“I can’t wait and it’s about time that all the corruption gets exposed in court, where everybody will have to tell the truth. I must add that when I look at the witness list, the people coming forward to testify against me, these are the people who are supposed to be sitting in the dock and not me, but I will continue fighting corruption,” Van Niekerk said.

He said he hoped the case would continue on Tuesday.

In October, his legal team filed presentations to the director of public prosecutions in an attempt to get the charges against him dropped.

Asked for an update, he said there had been developments, but his legal team had advised him against speaking about it.

“I’ve been asked not to say anything, but I prefer for the case to be heard because if the case doesn’t continue, then the truth never surfaces.

“So I’ve taken that step to say, ‘let us go to court.’ Let us get this case; let’s get the corruption out. We’re also applying for the case to be broadcast via social media, on our YouTube channel.

“I want everybody to see. It’s me holding myself accountable and holding the other officials accountable as well,” Van Niekerk said.

“I’m a public representative. I work with state funds, and it’s only right that the people here understand what happened and what’s still happening in our municipality,” Van Niekerk said.

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