What Ka Ndlovu told court to be granted bail

'I will not attempt to evade my trial'

“I have strong community ties to the country, and I also have strong occupational ties."

This is what film producer Duma Ka Ndlovu told the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Palm Ridge as he applied successfully for bail.

In an affidavit read out in court by his lawyer, André Kruger, Ka Ndlovu said he was not a flight risk. “I am the sole breadwinner in my family and if I am incarcerated then my family is at jeopardy. If I am granted bail, I will not attempt to evade my trial. I have significant assets in SA, both personal and business in nature. I am committed to and for my family," he said.

Ka Ndlovu, 69, and his tax practitioners – Rodney Mutsharini and Maxwell Mloyi – are facing fraud and tax evasion charges. He said he was in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday when he received a call from the investigation officer, informing him about the tax evasion charges.

He said he was told to go to the Brackendowns police station in Alberton. He said initially he was going to drive to Gauteng on Monday but was deterred by the bad weather and instead took a flight.

Ka Ndlovu said there were further delays with his flight but upon landing in Johannesburg, he ordered an e-hailing taxi to take him to the police station, where he was detained.

Yesterday, he was granted R100,000 bail, while Mutsharini and Mloyi had theirs set at R50,000 each.

The state alleges that Ka Ndlovu made misrepresentations in his income tax and corporate tax for his production company Ambrobrite, which resulted in Sars losing R25m. Mutsharini is a former tax practitioner, and the state alleges he and Mloyi helped Ka Ndlovu make the misrepresentations to Sars.

I will allow the media to record the proceedings, given that they stick to their own guidelines... not to release any information that may be prejudiced to the accused or his family.Magistrate Ashika Ramlal

Should Ka Ndlovu be found guilty, the state wants him to be fined or imprisoned for no longer than two years.

The charges against Ndlovu stem from allegations of financial misconduct related to Ambrobrite.

The company, which was reportedly dormant and never traded, was contracted by Bain & Company from November 2013 to September 2016 to provide strategic advice and received a total of R8.4m during the tax years 2014 to 2016.

Earlier in the day, Kruger pleaded with the court not to allow media to cover the court proceedings as his client’s personal information would be exposed. He argued that the media’s applications were not followed properly as a 24-hour notice was not given.

Kruger said this would have given his client time to prepare and also argue against it.

However, prosecutor Ronitha Singh said: “I also find it confusing on how the defence argues that the broadcasting of his client’s public information would endanger him or his family and is against his constitutional rights for privacy when he is a prominent public figure and his life already being known.”

Magistrate Ashika Ramlal ruled that the media can cover the case, saying it was well aware of the Press Code and are obliged by it not to release any personal information that could be of prejudice to Ka Ndlovu.

"Therefore, I will allow the media to record the proceedings, given that they stick to their own guidelines... not to release any information that may be prejudiced to the accused or his family,” said Ramlal.

Ramlal said although the state did not oppose bail, it was still the court’s prerogative to assess whether releasing the accused on bail serves the interests of justice.

The court ordered that Mloyi and Mutsharini hand over their travel documents to the investigating officer by 9am today and check in at their local police stations every Monday. If they wish to travel abroad, they must apply to the court.

Similarly, Ka Ndlovu is required to report to the Sandton police station every Monday or Wednesday, inform the court clerk of any address changes in KZN, and apply to the court for permission to travel outside SA.

The case was postponed to November 11 for further investigations.

SowetanLIVE