SCA rules in state's favour in the Nulane case, orders retrial of all accused
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has upheld an appeal by the state against the judgment of the Free State High Court in 2023 which discharged the accused in the R24.9m Nulane Investments fraud and money-laundering case.
The SCA on Thursday set aside the acquittal of six individual accused and two companies. It also ordered that the accused may be retried for the same offences as if they had not been previously arraigned, tried and acquitted, provided a different judge presides over the trial.
In 2023 five of the accused successfully applied for discharges while another was acquitted as acting judge Nompumelo Gusha ruled the state had failed to pass the tests for putting forward a prima facie case.
Former Free State agriculture department head Limakatso Moorosi, who did not apply for a discharge, was acquitted by Gusha, while her co-accused were discharged. They are:
Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma;
Peter Thabethe, former head of the Free State department of rural development;
Seipati Dhlamini, former provincial agriculture department CFO;
Dinesh Patel, Sharma's brother-in-law and a representative of Nulane;
Islandsite director Ronica Ragavan; and
Nulane Investment and Islandsite as entities.
The state charged Thabethe and Moorosi with contravening the Public Finance Management Act by allegedly committing the Free State agriculture and rural development department to a contract of R24.9m without following a tender process. The state also charged all eight accused of fraud.
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