The bail application of lawyer Charlotte Tibana, the wife of co-accused Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officer Peter “Greater Gagash” Nonyane, took a new twist on Monday.

This was when the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court heard that two luxury vehicles were allegedly purchased in the name of her younger sister, Rirhandzu.

The allegations were made by Hawks investigating Officer, Constable Khutšišo Thobejane, who is vehemently opposing Tibana’s application for bail.

However, he could not explain why Nonyane’s previous arrest on an assault case, which was later withdrawn, should be used to deny him bail.

Thobejane told the court that he believed Tibana could interfere with the matter if released on bail, even though she lives in Bendor, Polokwane, while her husband is based in Pretoria.

He argued that the couple would need to maintain contact, which would require frequent travel between the two cities. Thobejane also raised concerns about being able to locate Tibana, who eventually handed herself over to police last Monday after police unsuccessfully hunted her throughout the weekend.

The investigating officer further raised concerns about two vehicles allegedly registered in Rirhandzu’s name, a GWM Haval Jolion and a Ford Ranger Raptor. The Ford was allegedly driven mostly by “Greater Gagash”.

Thobejane told the court that his investigations indicated that Rirhandzu, who is unemployed, would not have qualified to finance the vehicles. He further alleged that Tibana could be responsible for paying the monthly instalments.

“Rirhandzu Tibana does not qualify to buy these vehicles according to my investigations because Rirhandzu is not employed. I’m talking about two vehicles, Haval and Ford Ranger Raptor with registration number plate “Aya Ayan.” My investigations show that Rirhandzu is unemployed and that these vehicles may be paid for by funds from the deceased estate or the person who is paying for these vehicles might be the accused number one (Charlotte). All these vehicles are still under finance. They are still under banks. The Asset Forfeiture Unit will explain further on this matter,” Thobenjane said.

The vehicle allegations form part of the State’s broader case against Tibana and are likely to be considered as the court weighs its opposition to bail.

Defence complains about court delays

Meanwhile, Tibana and Nonyane’s lawyer, Advocate Hlawulani Maluleke, raised concerns about repeated delays in the commencement of the bail proceedings.

Maluleke told the court that the delays were affecting the accused persons’ ability to properly deal with their bail applications.

“I have been instructed to raise these issues before court. The constant delays in commencement of this matter which negatively affects these proceedings. On the first appearance there was significant delay, which perhaps could be understood because the state was preparing itself to sort out the annexure of the charge sheet. However, on Friday we experienced the very same issues. There were challenges regarding court order lease. We were gracious enough to accept that situation however we were under the impression that all officers understood that we are in court and we have to respect the time of the start of the matter,” Advocate Maluleke said.

“Here we are today, on Monday, 09:57, the matter has not progressed as it ought to. This takes hours and hours from their matter. We are humbly pleading that a ruling be made that at the very least the court support staff in its entirety takes this matter seriously and ensure that the accused persons are brought to court and afforded ample opportunity to deal with the issues that are ordinarily dealt with in the bail application,” he added.

The magistrate acknowledged the concerns, explaining that the shortage of police officers responsible for transporting accused persons had previously been raised with senior authorities.

“I need to say that the issue of shortage of court orderlies in this establishment has, prior to this case, been dealt with on several occasions. And this court, as the head of this division, went to an extent of interacting with court orderlies to ensure that we are supposed to start at 09:00 in the morning and by that time all court officials should be in their places including in the courtroom in order for the court to commence. This concern escalated to include all court officials, language services and the prosecution and I should assure you that the courts are always ready at 09:00 in this establishment. This matter escalated to the Office of the (Capricorn) District Commander, Major General Lesiba Mashilo and I held a meeting with him including the station commander of Polokwane Police Station. This meeting was held in this establishment and this matter does not only affect this court but also the regional court,” the magistrate responded.

The case has been postponed to tomorrow.

Previous allegations in estate fraud case

Tibana and Nonyane face charges of theft, fraud, alternatively theft, and money laundering.

Nonyane, 36, was arrested in Pretoria on Friday, 14 August, while Charlotte, 33, was arrested in Polokwane on Monday, 17 August.

According to the regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Limpopo Division, Mashudu Malabi, the State alleges that approximately R1.75 million was unlawfully withdrawn from the bank accounts of two deceased estates.

The money was allegedly transferred and used in a manner that prejudiced the estates and deprived their lawful beneficiaries of their inheritance.

The State further alleges that about R1.75 million of the money was used to purchase a second-hand Mercedes-Benz AMG G63 from a dealership in Pretoria.

Tibana, who is the executor of the two estates, is accused of authorising and facilitating the transfer of funds from the estate accounts.

Last week, the case escalated after a fifth charge was added against Tibana, with the State bringing a further theft count alongside the fraud and money-laundering charges.

The case relates to allegations surrounding the administration of the estate of the late Hlengani Thompson Maswanganyi and the handling of funds belonging to his beneficiaries.

African Times also previously reported that a Pretoria law firm, MAV Attorneys, distanced itself from Nonyane and Charlotte’s cases after its name and banking details were publicly shared in connection with the matter.

The firm said it had no business or financial relationship with Nonyane and that its dealings with him were limited to a Road Accident Fund matter.