The Durban High Court has heard that businessman Thoshan Panday and his eight co-accused in a R47-million fraud and corruption case, will not receive a fair trial if they do not have full access to applications by the police to intercept cellphone calls and all the recordings.
This has been the argument of the accused’s legal teams in an application before Judge Khosi Hadebe.
Panday’s co-accused includes former KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Mmamonye Ngobeni. The case involves alleged inflated quotations for police accommodation for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, as well as an alleged bribe to stop the investigation.
Acting for Ngobeni, Advocate Ravendra Maniklall has argued that the application before a judge to authorise the intercepts is so heavily redacted that it does not make sense.
The defence teams are applying for access to the full applications, as well as all the intercepts.
This is so that they can place the 31 intercepts the state will use in the trial, in its proper context.
The accused plans to challenge the legality of the intercepts in the trial.
Judgment in the application is reserved.
