IT mogul Robert Gumede will not be prosecuted for corruption. The National Prosecuting Authority recently informed Gumede's former business partner and complainant in the case, John Sterenborg, that it could not find "sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution".
Sterenborg, who was Gumede's business partner in the smart-card manufacturer Applied Card Technologies (ACT), laid charges of corruption against Gumede in February 2007 relating to the awarding of a multimillion-rand phonecard tender by Telkom. ACT originally tendered for the Telkom contract, but was subsequently liquidated and bought by Gumede’s Gijima Afrika Smart Technologies (GAST).
Telkom awarded the tender to GAST in 2002 and Sterenborg accused Gumede, chairperson of listed IT company GijimaAST, of irregularly diverting business from ACT. GAST is not related to GijimaAST. In 2007 Sterenborg laid charges against Gumede with the police that Gumede allegedly bribed Telkom executives to obtain the tender. The case was referred by the police to the NPA's Specialised Commercial Crimes Court (SCCC) in Johannesburg, where prosecutor Pierre Tickner declined to prosecute the matter in June 2007. After making more representations to the NPA, Sterenborg got the case transferred back to the police who further investigated the matter.
However, Gideon Nkoana, a deputy director of public prosecutions at the SCCC, informed Sterenborg on November 2 this year that he was declining to prosecute the matter. "After painstaking perusal and consideration of the available evidence, including the additional evidence obtained by Captain Wie [the investigating officer], I am unable to find sufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution against either Gijima [sic] or Mr Robert Gumede. I therefore decline to prosecute," Nkoana wrote.
According to NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga, the evidence discovered by the police after the case was referred back to it "still did not take the matter any further". Through his lawyer, Gumede declined to respond to questions. Sterenborg was travelling and unavailable to comment.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Showing posts with label John Sterenborg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Sterenborg. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, October 17, 2008
Major ANC donor in graft probe
A case of corruption has been opened against Robert Gumede, the chairperson of listed information technology company GijimaAST. The case, opened with the Roodepoort police station under case number 781/2/2007, concerns alleged bribes paid by Gumede to Telkom executives.
Gumede, who recently donated R10-million to the ANC during a fundraising dinner in Sandton, vehemently denies bribing Telkom officials and said he was not aware of the police's probe against him. The charge comes after a series of battles between Gumede and his former business partner, John Sterenborg. Gumede claims to have won all combat rounds thus far. Sterenborg, who lives in England, could not be reached for comment.
The Mail & Guardian has established that the South African Police Service's commercial branch in Johannesburg is actively pursuing the corruption charge against Gumede, relating to the award of a R600-million tender by Telkom to his Gijima Afrika Smart Technologies (GAST) in 2002. GAST is not related to the listed GijimaAST, which Gumede joined in 2005 as its black empowerment partner. Gumede's Guma group, formerly known as Gijima, acquired 37% of AST's shares in 2005 to form GijimaAST. Gumede is the non-executive chairperson of GijimaAST. The investigation of Gumede follows several bouts of litigation between him and Sterenborg about the acquisition of Applied Card Technologies (ACT), a smart-card manufacturer previously owned by Sterenborg.
Gumede was Sterenborg's black business partner in ACT when the company was placed under provisional liquidation. During that period ACT was asked by Telkom to tender for a R600-million contract to manufacture telephone cards until 2005. Gumede bought ACT and the Telkom tender was subsequently awarded to GAST. During a 2006 inquiry by the master of the high court into ACT's liquidation Sterenborg accused Gumede of irregularly diverting the phone card tender to his own company [GAST] while ACT was in dire need of revenue. However, Gumede told the M&G this week he believed Sterenborg "abandoned" the inquiry because he knew it would make adverse findings against him and not Gumede. Now the SAPS is investigating allegations that Telkom executives received benefits from Gumede while adjudicating his bid for the phone card contract.
Gumede told the M&G: "Your approach to this issue is clear: 'Aha, we have dirt on a man who is funding the ANC. Let's expose him.' But you know as well as I do that this 'dirt' does not exist -- because it is not 'dirt' on me, it is mud that was thrown at me by someone (the British citizen Dr John Sterenborg) who has himself been exposed as a liar, fraudster, an extortionist and a rogue," Gumede said in response to the M&G's questions. "I am not aware of any so-called investigation and will expect the SAPS to talk to me directly if there is such an investigation ... I am a law-abiding citizen."
Source: Mail & Guardian
Gumede, who recently donated R10-million to the ANC during a fundraising dinner in Sandton, vehemently denies bribing Telkom officials and said he was not aware of the police's probe against him. The charge comes after a series of battles between Gumede and his former business partner, John Sterenborg. Gumede claims to have won all combat rounds thus far. Sterenborg, who lives in England, could not be reached for comment.
The Mail & Guardian has established that the South African Police Service's commercial branch in Johannesburg is actively pursuing the corruption charge against Gumede, relating to the award of a R600-million tender by Telkom to his Gijima Afrika Smart Technologies (GAST) in 2002. GAST is not related to the listed GijimaAST, which Gumede joined in 2005 as its black empowerment partner. Gumede's Guma group, formerly known as Gijima, acquired 37% of AST's shares in 2005 to form GijimaAST. Gumede is the non-executive chairperson of GijimaAST. The investigation of Gumede follows several bouts of litigation between him and Sterenborg about the acquisition of Applied Card Technologies (ACT), a smart-card manufacturer previously owned by Sterenborg.
Gumede was Sterenborg's black business partner in ACT when the company was placed under provisional liquidation. During that period ACT was asked by Telkom to tender for a R600-million contract to manufacture telephone cards until 2005. Gumede bought ACT and the Telkom tender was subsequently awarded to GAST. During a 2006 inquiry by the master of the high court into ACT's liquidation Sterenborg accused Gumede of irregularly diverting the phone card tender to his own company [GAST] while ACT was in dire need of revenue. However, Gumede told the M&G this week he believed Sterenborg "abandoned" the inquiry because he knew it would make adverse findings against him and not Gumede. Now the SAPS is investigating allegations that Telkom executives received benefits from Gumede while adjudicating his bid for the phone card contract.
Gumede told the M&G: "Your approach to this issue is clear: 'Aha, we have dirt on a man who is funding the ANC. Let's expose him.' But you know as well as I do that this 'dirt' does not exist -- because it is not 'dirt' on me, it is mud that was thrown at me by someone (the British citizen Dr John Sterenborg) who has himself been exposed as a liar, fraudster, an extortionist and a rogue," Gumede said in response to the M&G's questions. "I am not aware of any so-called investigation and will expect the SAPS to talk to me directly if there is such an investigation ... I am a law-abiding citizen."
Source: Mail & Guardian
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