Former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli to — finally — face trial in April 2025

Following his unsuccessful appeal for legal aid, former Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Richard Mdluli was informed in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday that the trial of him and his co-accused would begin on 14 April 2025.

Henry Mamothame, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), said that Mdluli confirmed in court that he would hire a private attorney to represent him at the trial.

In dismissing Mdluli’s application, Judge Mudunwazi Makamu said the matter had been on the court roll for a long time and prejudiced the other two accused who had placed it on record that they were ready to proceed with trial.

Mdluli, together with the former South African Police Service (SAPS) supply chain manager Heine Barnard and its former chief financial officer Solomon Lazarus, faces 15 charges of fraud, corruption and contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act for allegedly looting Crime Intelligence’s Secret Services Account between 2008 and 2012.

The case was first registered in 2011 — 13 years ago.

Allegations against Mdluli include that CI funds were spent on private trips to Singapore and China, that he leased his private residence to the state so he could pay his bond and made personal use of a witness protection property.

A report in Daily Maverick described the indictment against Mdluli as indicating “it was a friends and family affair down at his division, filled with travel, luxury homes, cars and clothes — all at the taxpayers’ expense”.

During his evidence at the State Capture Inquiry in October 2019, Colonel Dhanajaya Naidoo testified that CI slush funds allegedly bankrolled a KwaZulu-Natal holiday camp for CI senior members, furniture purchased for properties allegedly owned by two CI seniors and rented as safe houses, and a dealership worth of cars, many of which were high-end models.

Mdluli’s legal fees woes

It became clear that Mdluli was cash-strapped at his court appearance in Pretoria on 4 November. His lawyer withdrew, citing Mdluli’s lack of cash. Mdluli then sought legal aid assistance.

During the same proceedings, Mdluli was dealt another setback when the court denied his request for a trial postponement to await the outcome of his motion for leave to appeal against the SAPS’s refusal to pay his legal bills.

In January 2022, the Investigating Directorate said the SAPS had declined to pay the legal fees of Mdluli and his co-accused. Following this, Mdluli notified the court of his intention to take the SAPS decision on review. His appeal against the SAPS decision was dismissed by the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria.

In November this year, Legal Aid SA denied his application for legal help, a decision against which he appealed.

On 8 November, proceedings were postponed until 21 November, pending the conclusion of his review application to Legal Aid SA, which was denied. However, Legal Aid SA appointed an attorney to help with his review.

On Tuesday, Mdluli’s final attempt to get legal aid representation was dismissed.

Delaying tactics 

This is not Mdluli’s first criminal case. The former CI boss has already served time in prison for an unrelated offence.

Mdluli and Mthembeni Mthunzi were sentenced to five years in prison in September 2020 for kidnapping, assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, which occurred while Mdluli was commander of the Vosloorus police station in 1998. Mdluli was released on parole in July 2022 after serving a third of his sentence.

While in prison, Mdluli failed to appear in court on 10 November 2020, 8 February 2021 and 19 February 2021.

On 4 March 2021, an arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court yet again. On 26 March 2021 having previously failed to appear four times, Mdluli finally turned up at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria.

In May 2022, the State said his delaying tactics were preventing his trial from getting under way.

Fast-forward to 20 June 2022, when Mdluli’s delaying tactics caught up with him after a court ordered that a pre-trial date be set for 20 September 2022.

That did not materialise and in October 2022 the pre-trial conference was postponed to 6 February 2023.

There were further postponements due to Mdluli’s attempt to have the SAPS pay for his legal fees and then his application for Legal Aid SA representation.

With those issues resolved, the case is set to begin on 14 April 2025, unless Mdluli finds another reason for a delay. DM