Johannesburg – On 26 February, the trial court acquitted Bongani Bongo of all charges after the state closed its case on the basis that the witnesses lacked credibility.
The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, has decided the law and the legal principles applicable in dealing with applications of this nature, to appeal the decision to acquit Bongo.
Bongo was arraigned for trial in the High Court of South Africa: Western Cape Division on a count of corruption and various alternatives.
The charges stemmed from an offer he made to Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara to collapse the Portfolio Committee Inquiry into affairs at Eskom.
The application for leave to appeal has been filed and served on Bongo’s legal representatives.
“A suitable date will be arranged for the application to be heard by the Judge President. The state will request the court to reserve questions of law for the consideration of the Supreme Court of Appeal, as it avers that the trial court misdirected itself on the law related to corruption, the test to be applied when assessing the evidence of witnesses, the drawing of adverse inferences, use of previous consistent statements and the acceptance of the untested version of an accused person,” said Eric Ntabazalila, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority.
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