The case against a former Makana Municipality employee who faces corruption charges has been postponed because a state witness was out of the country.
The case against a former Makana Municipality employee who faces corruption charges has been postponed because a state witness was out of the country.
Former manager in the Town Planning and Estates directorate, Zukiswa Pearl Mkuzo, was scheduled to appear in the Grahamstown Regional Court, where her trial was set to resume. However, state witness Mike Pote could not be in court on Wednesday.
Mkuzo, accused of extorting money from a citizen who wanted to purchase land in Makana, pleaded not guilty to corruption charges when she appeared in court last month. She has not yet been called to testify in the case.
The first state witness to take the stand, Pote described to the court how he first came into contact with Mkuzo about two months after he had submitted building plans to the municipality.
The case was opened with Grahamstown police on 9 November, 2012.
Pote opened the case after he had applied to purchase land on 15 March 2011, but heard nothing about the matter until he made a follow-up visit to the municipality.
Pote told the court that Mkuzo asked him to lend her R20 000 in return for expediting his plans and making sure they were approved.
The parties agreed to set a provisional date to obtain the expert results.
The case is postponed in absentia to 28 October for further evidence. A warrant of arrest was issued, but held over until October 28.
