The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg has been inundated with calls from the alleged victims of former Johannesburg Mayor, Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda’s fraud scandal. They have expressed their concerns about the decision of the National Prosecuting Authority to provisionally withdraw the case on Tuesday, 25 February 2025.
The DA is in possession of affidavits from some of Gwamanda’s victims in which they allege that they were called by the investigating officer in the fraud case, who was insisting that they meet with Gwamanda and see if the matter cannot be settled out of court. This is the essence of defeating the ends of justice.
We will be writing to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to investigate the investigating officers’ conduct in this case.
They are of the view that the criminal justice system is failing them, because they have neither been called to court as witnesses nor interviewed by any of the law enforcement agencies dealing with the criminal investigation.
Additionally, victims also allege that they only learnt of the provisional withdrawal of the case from the media, and that nobody in the NPA has bothered to brief them about the outcome of Gwamanda’s court appearance.
According to the victims, all indications suggest that the investigating officers deliberately ensured that the case was struck off the court roll. This is deeply problematic as situations like these undermine the rule of law in the eyes of victims.
The DA believes in constitutionalism and the rule of law and will, therefore, not rest until justice is served- especially for the most vulnerable in our society.