More than a decade later, case against ex-cop Richard Mdluli postponed — again

A pre-trial conference was postponed in the Gauteng High Court on Monday pending the outcome of Richard Mdluli’s review of the South African Police Service’s decision not to pay the former cop’s legal fees.

Mdluli appeared in the dock alongside his co-accused Heine Barnard (former Crime Intelligence supply chain manager) and Solomon Lazarus (former chief financial officer of the State Security Agency).

In April 2022, the SA Police Service (SAPS) declined to pay the former head of Crime Intelligence’s legal fees in his fraud and corruption trial. Mdluli rejected this and took the matter on review. 

The review application could take months to be finalised. And Mdluli could drag the matter out even further by approaching the Constitutional Court.

Mdluli’s review application is based on the premise that the crimes he is charged with were allegedly committed while he was employed by the SAPS, and therefore it is the police who should foot the bill. The case was first registered in 2011.

The former Crime Intelligence boss has already spent time behind bars for an unrelated matter. In 1998, Mdluli and his co-accused, Mthembeni Mthunzi, were sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mdluli was released on parole in July 2022 after serving a third of his sentence.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been battling for more than a decade to get the current case against Mdluli and his co-accused to the point where they will plead to the charges they face.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Mdluli, Barnard and Lazarus face 15 charges of fraud, corruption and contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act for allegedly looting Crime Intelligence’s secret service account between 2008 and 2012. 

Other allegations against the accused involve money used for private trips to Singapore and China, the leasing of Mdluli’s private residence to the state to pay his bond, and the personal use of witness protection property.

A report in Daily Maverick on the indictment describes the situation at Mdluli’s division as “a friends-and-family affair … filled with travel, luxury homes, cars and clothes — all at the taxpayers’ expense”.

On Monday, NPA Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the matter had been postponed to 4 July for Mdluli to get feedback on his funding review application.

The last time the matter was fully ventilated in court was in July 2022. During those proceedings, state advocate Arno Rossouw argued that the long delay violated Barnard and Lazarus’ right to a speedy trial. The prosecution also told the court that their witnesses were getting older and they still needed to testify about an incident that happened 12 years ago. Rossouw said one of the State witnesses had been in witness protection since 2011.

It is not the first time a pre-trial date in the matter has been set and postponed. In June 2022, the Gauteng High Court ordered a pre-trial to be held on 20 September. At that appearance, the matter was postponed to 11 October — and then to 6 February 2023.

Last week, Daily Maverick asked Mdluli’s legal representative, advocate Ike Motloung, about the way forward should his client’s review application be unsuccessful. He replied: “I would advise Mdluli to take his appeal to the Constitutional Court.”

Mdluli and his co-accused are back in court on 4 July. DM