Malusi Gigaba Corruption Case Postponed To May Amid Hard Drive Evidence Dispute

The corruption case involving former Cabinet minister Malusi Gigaba and four co-accused has been postponed until May. The delay is intended to allow time for the exchange of electronic evidence and to address a dispute linked to his legal representation.

Gigaba is facing one charge of receiving gratification. Proceedings were adjourned following concerns raised by his legal team over the volume of digital evidence that needs to be disclosed to the defence.

His lawyers informed the court that he required R50,000 to obtain a hard drive capable of storing the electronic material to be handed over.

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Henry Mamatame, spokesperson for the Investigative Directorate against Corruption (IDAC), said the size of the evidence had been clarified after initial confusion.

“There has been correspondence between the state and Mr Gigaba’s attorneys regarding the hard drive for disclosure. The confusion around the 55 terabytes was cleared at this point, only five terabytes are required for the docket in this case,” Mamatame said.

According to Mamatame, the larger volume of data relates to other Transnet-linked matters that are not directly before the court. These were flagged to avoid potential delays later in the trial process.

Malusi Gigaba: Legal Fees Dispute and Conflict-of-Interest Concerns

Gigaba’s legal team told the court that he had not been able to purchase a 55-terabyte hard drive while awaiting a response from the state regarding payment of his legal fees.

The state attorney has declined a request to fund his legal representation.

The matter will now return to court in May, when both sides are expected to proceed with evidence disclosure and address the outstanding issues.