A lawyer and businessman who was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for defrauding the South African Revenue Service (Sars) of R100-million has been granted leave to appeal his 65-year jail term.
Adv Maxwell Mavudzi, a Zimbabwean national and a businessman, filed an application in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein to have his sentence reviewed.
Mavudzi was sentenced to 65 years behind bars by Johannesburg High Court acting judge Mudunwazi Makamu in October last year following a six-year trial.
Mavudzi and his nine co-accused, who include among them South Africans, a Zambian, a Lesotho national and Zimbabweans were convicted on 391 counts of money laundering, fraud and forgery.
Mavudzi, who is serving his prison term in Johannesburg Prison, better known as Sun City in the south of Johannesburg, approached the SCA for the sentence that saw him languishing in jail. His appeal was granted on May 6 by the SCA.
“Condonation as applied for is granted. The decision of the court dated 22 August 2024, dismissing the applicant’s application for leave to appeal with costs, is referred to the court for reconsideration, and if necessary, variation.
“The application for leave to appeal is referred for oral argument in terms of section 17 (2) (d) of the Superior Court Act 10 of 2013,” said SCA acting registrar, Lebohang Lengana.
The SCA’s decision to grant Mavudzi leave to appeal his sentence comes after his numerous failed attempts to get out of prison.
Mavudzi and his co-accused were convicted and sentenced for defrauding Sars of R100-million between 2009 and 2015 by submitting fraudulent tax refund claims.
He wrote a letter to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on June 26, last year, and complained about Makanu.
He outlined that his complaint was related to acts of dishonesty with regard to certain findings that Makamu had made in his judgment on November 13, 2023.
Mavudzi’s complaint centred around allegations that Makamu’s judgment relied on hearsay and inconclusive data evidence. He disputed evidence extracted from Sars’s database.
Mavudzi also protested that Makamu as an acting judge did not write a comprehensive judgment but relied on hearsay to make the ruling.
In the criminal trial that started on July 1, 2018, Mavudzi on August 26, 2019 objected to the admission of data messages to be used as evidence.
The JSC confirmed receipt of his complaint.
Sunday World has seen the response from the JSC where the commission’s secretariat of the judicial conduct committee, Dimakatso Ramaisa on July 9, 2024, wrote: “The Judicial Service Commission hereby acknowledges receipt of your complaint. Your complaint will be forwarded to the Judicial Conduct Committee for consideration. The Secretariat will notify you of the outcome of your complaint in due course.”
However, speaking to Sunday World last week, Mavudzi’s relative stated that he did not receive any joy or attention from the JCS’s judicial conduct committee. “If we complain to the JSC, which is the custodian of the same judges we lodge complaints against, how would those [judges] be investigated by the same body that defends them?
“Clearly, there is a potential conflict of interest in that regard at JSC when it comes to decision making, relating to misconduct of the judges, hence my complaints against Judge Makamu are not being taken into consideration as he is protected by the same JSC and its committee that comprises other judges.
“There is no fairness and no independence on the JSC to deal with Mavudzi and his co-accused’s complaints as aggrieved people who believe that they were convicted and sentenced wrongfully,” said the relative, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Seven of the convicted included Jeremiah Nyasha Dube, Rebecca Dube, Moliehi Ramone, Edward Shoniwa, Zamaswazi Radebe, Bongani Mbonani and Sello Rathethe.
The last accused, Christopher Dube absconded just before conviction. A warrant for his arrest has since been authorised by the court.
Two other accused, Bonisiwe Ndlovu and Thabile died while the trial was ongoing.
Two others accused Mfanafuthi Khanyile and Adam Phiri turned state witnesses.
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