State witness says he was told to draft memo that ensured R24.9m tender for Nulane Investments

A state witness in the Nulane Investments R24.9m fraud and money-laundering case has placed the former CFO of the Free State agriculture department at the centre of a memo that resulted in a contract being awarded without bidding.

The trial relates to an allegedly corrupt feasibility study contract that was a precursor to the controversial Estina dairy farm project in Vrede that is linked to the Gupta family.

Shadrack Cezula, a section 204 indemnity witness, said he drafted the memo that was used to ensure Nulane Investments, a company controlled by Iqbal Sharma, was awarded the contract without it being put to tender.

Cezula, a former acting head of supply chain in the department, told the Free State High Court that Seipati Dhlamini, his boss and CFO, instructed him to draft the document.

Dhlamini, Sharma, Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi, Ronica Ragavan and Sharma’s brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel, are accused of fraud and money-laundering.

A letter from New Delhi, India-based scrap-metal dealer World Impact, which proposed to partner with the department, supported the memo, according to Cezula.

He said Dhlamini told him the letter came from then head of department Thabethe, adding that Dhlamini dictated the contents.

The case continues.

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