Update
GEORGE NEWS - The five accused in the War on Waste case appeared in the George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 25 January. The case has been postponed to 25 February for a pre-trial* and will continue in the George Regional Court.
The accused include former municipal manager Trevor Botha, former director of community services Walter Hendricks, former George mayor Melvin Naik and two municipal officials, Wessel Robertson and Rowan Botha.
The Hawks Serious Commercial Investigation served them with court summonses in September 2020 on charges of fraud, corruption and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act. The charges relate to Naik's mayoral project, War on Waste.
Botha, Hendricks and Naik have previously proclaimed their innocence in the case. Botha is represented by Regan Brown and Hendricks by a Cape Town law firm, Davidson Badrodien Attorneys. Attorney Winston Jansen represents Melvin Naik, Wessel Robertson and Rowan Botha. Adv Xolile Jonas is representing the state.
* A pre-trial is a court process to determine the readiness of all the parties before the start of the trial. It is meant to ensure that there are no impediments when the trial starts.
During this period the presiding officer will check if the defence has received financial instructions, whether all necessary documents and other material have been shared between the parties and whether trial dates have been agreed upon by all the parties.
Once all this has been confirmed, a trial date is set.
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