The Eastern Cape director of community safety and liaison, Neil Naidoo, and his co-accused businessmen Kenny Govender and Matthew Pillay are out on bail ranging from R15 000 to R50 000.
The trio appeared at the East London magistrate’s court on charges of corruption, theft and defeating the ends of justice following an attempt to bribe investigating officials from the National Prosecuting Authority’s investigative directorate.
Govender and Pillay are involved in a business that was awarded a R36-million tender to supply office furniture to SA Police Service offices around the country. However, the poor quality of the supplied furniture prompted an investigation by the investigative directorate.
Naidoo is accused of having acted as the middleman when Govender and Pillay attempted to bribe the investigators to stop the investigation that began in March. They were nabbed during an undercover operation where Pillay and Govender agreed to pay R3.5-million to the investigators.
An initial amount of R1.8-million bribe was agreed upon and handed over to Naidoo on April 14 to deliver to the investigators, but it is alleged that he stole R300 000 and only handed over R1.5-million to undercover police officers.
During the bail hearing, the accused told the court through their lawyers that they are the breadwinners, responsible for their families, have assets in the country, and do not have assets outside of the republic.
Naidoo further told the court through his lawyer that he earns just over R1-million a year, supports his wife who is not full-time employed and that three of his five children are still dependent on him financially. He added that he is on chronic medication.
Govender said he is diabetic, takes insulin at least three times a day, and is on chronic medication. The accused pleaded to be released on bail and said they will not interfere with the investigation.
The state opposed bail and described the trio as a flight risk. The state added that they are likely to flee because they were caught attempting to bribe police officers.
State prosecutor advocate Tilas Chabalala cautioned that the accused could still try to interfere with the investigation and make contact with state witnesses, as they had proven to be capable of using connections to avoid being investigated.
Chabalala added that Pillay is refusing to give access to his iPhone, a behaviour he described as concealment of incriminating evidence contained in the device. He noted that the accused face serious charges and the state has a strong case that could result in a conviction of no less than 15 years in prison.
But presiding magistrate Luyanda Gobingca ruled that the state did not provide any evidence to support its view that the applicants might commit further offences, evade trial, or skip the country.
Gobingca added that the outstanding issues are not in the control of the applicants and ordered Naidoo and Pillay to be released on R15 000 bail each. Govender was asked to pay R50 000 towards his bail, which he said in his affidavit that he could afford.
The applicants were also ordered not to interfere with police investigations, state witnesses in person or through other persons or agents, and to surrender their travel documents. They were also ordered to contact investigating officers at least once a week.
The accused will return to court in July.
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