The State has temporarily dropped all charges against former Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and his co-accused, Mduduzi Zondo.
The two men appeared briefly in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Tuesday morning, where the prosecution announced that the charges against them had been provisionally withdrawn.
Gwamanda and Zondo had been facing multiple counts of fraud, accused of defrauding Soweto residents through a funeral policy scam between 2011 and 2012.
During the proceedings, the court was informed that the matter was set for the issuance of a trial-ready certificate.
However, the prosecutor explained that the State did not enough documents to support their case at this stage, leading to the provisional withdrawal of charges against both individuals.
According to Eyewitness News (EWN), attorney Gregory Armstrong, representing Gwamanda and Zondo, the State had 21 months to gather sufficient evidence for prosecution but failed to do so.
"Where did it fall apart? They never had sufficient evidence. I've sat with the senior prosecutor on the last occasion and went through the docket and it was in such a disorganised state.
"It was impossible for them to put together - there were bank statements for incorrect entities, there were missing documents, I don’t think the matter has ever been ripe for trial."
Gwamanda was arrested in October of the previous year but was released on bail.
In November, he was dismissed from his position as a member of the mayoral committee for Community Development by the new Mayor, Dada Morero.
Gwamanda was replaced by Tebogo Nkonkou, a councillor from the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
Following the court appearance, Gwamanda spoke to the media, claiming that the State had no choice but to withdraw the case due to its lack of merit.
"As indicated previously, there is no evidence that points to any activities that points to fraud. It is an issue of a politically motivated attack on an individual that is somewhat different from many politicians.
"I don't know the reason for them to take that kind of posture, but it is important to use the structures available to us to prove either innocence or guilt," he said.
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