Pretoria - Former State Security minister Bongani Bongo and 11 others appeared at the Nelspruit Commercial Crimes Court in Mpumalanga over R74m fraud and corruption charges.
It is alleged Bongo and his co-accused, including his ex-wife Sandile Nkosi and brother Sipho Joel Bongo, acted jointly to defraud the Mpumalanga human settlements department during the purchase of two farms.
The accused allegedly conspired to inflate the value of the farms bought on behalf of two local municipalities in an alleged land deal.
Some of the accused allegedly received kickbacks after the owners of the farms in question were paid less than the amount that was spent by government.
The accused are facing 69 charges that include fraud, theft, corruption and the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
Bongo claims the case is politically motivated and he maintains his innocence.
He has been released on R10 000 bail.
The matter was postponed to November 16 after one of the accused came with a new legal representative.
Speaking to reporters outside court, Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Monica Nyuswa said the State has to provide the legal representative with case documents in order to prepare for trial.
Nyuswa added they have been ready since March to proceed with the trial and they have plenty of witnesses who are expected to testify during the trial.
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