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The Pretoria High Court granted Danny Msiza and Cabello Matsepe a trial separate from their co-accused. (Photo courtesy of OJ Koloti/Gallo)
- The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted an application by VBS robbery accused Danny Msiza and Kabelo Matsepe to separate their trial from that of their co-accused.
- But the court rejected their request for a temporary stay of prosecution.
- The National Prosecuting Authority was disappointed with the decision and said a separate trial would be a drain on state resources and require witnesses to testify twice.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday granted an application by VBS Mutual Bank robbery accused, former ANC treasurer in Limpopo, Danny Msiza, and former ANC Youth League leader, Cabello Masepe, to have their trial separated from that of their co-accused.
However, the court dismissed their second application for a temporary stay of the prosecution pending the outcome of their appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal challenging the High Court’s decision to dismiss their application for further particulars.
The application comes after the High Court refused leave to appeal in late June.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga expressed great disappointment at the ruling.
“It will be very damaging to the state. It will over-strain the state’s resources because you’ll need to call witnesses twice, change judges, and new court officials who will need to assist … with two trials.
“But what is important and concerning to us is that our witnesses have to testify twice, which is not fair to them,” Maga said.
He said the NPA intends to appeal.
“Once we are fully justified, we will appeal fully as we are confident that the higher court will reach a different conclusion,” he said.
During Wednesday’s debate, former state attorney general Shaun Abrahams, representing Msiza and Matsepe, argued that the state took too long to “provide us with critical documents.”
Abrahams told the court they made the application because the government had “consistently failed” to provide them with the documents or evidence they needed to prepare their defence.
He argued that the government constructed its case against Msiza and Matsepe based on an investigation led by defense attorney Terry Motau and the Werksman law firm.
However, state defence lawyer Hein van der Merwe disagreed, saying the evidence dates back to 2013 and 2015.
Van der Merwe claimed that Msiza and Matsepe were the “authors of their own problems” and were “busy developing a dedicated strategy to delay and prevent the start of the trial”.
News24 previously reported Masiza, Matsepe and 11 other defendants were charged with theft, fraud, money laundering, corruption, extortion and violations of the Prevention of Organized Crime Act and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.
They are alleged to have robbed around R2 billion from the now-defunct bank between 2015 and 2018.
Last month, former VBS chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi, who was described as the mastermind of the fraud scheme, reached a plea agreement with the state government and agreed to serve as a witness for the state. He pleaded guilty to 33 counts of theft, fraud, extortion and money laundering and will be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In 2020, one of the defendants in the case, former VBS CFO Philip Truter, pleaded guilty under a plea agreement and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The cases of Msiza, Matsepe and 11 others were postponed to September 9.
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