Numerous delays in an extortion case which has been on the court roll since early last year, almost led to the case being struck off the roll in the Grahamstown regional court on Tuesday 29 April.
Numerous delays in an extortion case which has been on the court roll since early last year, almost led to the case being struck off the roll in the Grahamstown regional court on Tuesday 29 April.
Magistrate, Thembela Mata, said he would have probably refused the state's request for a remand should the defence have made such an application.
This was because the investigating officer assigned to the case was on leave and state witnesses were also not warned to be in court, resulting in the state asking for a remand due to the absence of witnesses.
An employee, who worked in the town planning department, allegedly tried to extort money from a citizen who had applied to purchase land in Makana.
The case was opened at the Grahamstown police station on 9 November 2012.
The suspended Makana Municipality employee made a brief appearance in court on Tuesday and her lawyer appealed to the court for the matter to be finalised on the next occasion.
Mata said he had gone through the charge sheet and realised that the case had been on the roll for a long time. Mata said he was in full agreement with the defence in warning the state to ensure that case is finalised on the next occasion.
The magistrate said he was fully aware that the accused and her lawyer had to travel some distance to Grahamstown for the case every time it is postponed, since they are from East London and Port Elizabeth respectively.
Grocott's Mail learned from a reliable source that the man who opened the case had applied to purchase land in 2007, but heard nothing about the matter until he made a follow-up visit to the municipality.
He had gone to the municipality on 15 October last year to enquire about his application, the source said.
There he met an employee in town planning. According to the source, the employee allegedly asked the would-be landowner for a loan of R20 000 which would ensure that his application was successful.
Captain Mali Govender said the case had been handed over to the East London Organised Crime Unit (the Hawks) for further investigation.
National Hawks spokesperson, Captain Paul Ramaloko, confirmed that the organisation had taken over the investigation. He explained that cases of this nature fall under their jurisdiction.
Mata said he was likely to refuse the application but, in fairness, granted the state a postponement. The case was postponed to 2 July.
