The Bloemfontein Regional Court has granted R 10 000 bail each, the two people arrested on Thursday for alleged involvement in the Estina Dairy Project’s corruption scandal.
Former Free State Agriculture Chief Financial Officer Sylvia Dlamini and businesswoman Malikomo Mohapi were arrested by the Hawks for alleged corruption, fraud and money laundering worth over R 244 million.
The State alleges that were irregular payments worth millions of rand which were made to certain accounts between January 2012 and December 2016.
Mohapi’s company Rekgonne Community Projects was enlisted as an implementing agent.
A large amount of money was allegedly deposited into Dlamini’s bank account.
The accused have been warned to inform the investigating officer when traveling abroad.
The case has been postponed to September 10 and will be transferred to the high court.
DA urges Mkhwebane to finalise report
Last month, the Democratic Alliance (DA) urged Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to finalise her investigation and report on the controversial project.
The call came after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Mkhwebane’s application to appeal the 2019 Pretoria High Court judgment against her report into the R350 million Gupta-linked Dairy Project.
South Africa’s official opposition says the Public Protector’s continuous legal attempts to “prevent further probe and findings” into the scandal raises questions about her motives and her ability to take objective decisions in this regard.
In the video below, DA calls on Public Protector to finalise Estina Dairy report:
Below is a story on the Public Proctor’s bid to appeal the Estina ruling:
The Estina Dairy Farm project was meant to benefit 100 emerging farmers but instead millions of rand allegedly landed in the coffers of a Gupta-owned company.– Additional reporting by Ismael Modiba and Phanuel Shuma.
