Pretoria - Almost a month since his fraud trial was postponed, Dr Murunwa Makwarela, the former City of Tshwane mayor, had not briefed his lawyer about the way forward in his criminal trial.
This came to light yesterday during his very brief appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Makwarela’s legal counsel told the court that he was not briefed in the matter and that the case thus had to be postponed so that he could take instructions.
It is not clear why Makwarela did not consult with his lawyer, but he was warned by the court to get his matters in order, and not to delay the criminal trial any further.
The case was postponed to May 17 so that Makwarela could consult with his defence counsel.
It is not clear whether financial constraints prevented him from contacting his lawyer, as Makwarela no longer enjoys the perks that come with being the mayor of Tshwane.
He appeared in court for the first time last month, after handing himself over at the Brooklyn police station, and was granted R10 000 bail.
The City had approached the Hawks to probe him for fraud regarding his alleged fake insolvency rehabilitation certificate.
The politician, businessman, former speaker of council and mayor is alleged to have submitted a fake court document to prove that he was eligible to run for office.
He served as the mayor of Tshwane from February 28 until he was fired by the city manager on March 7, for being declared insolvent in 2016.
During his bail application, Makwarela said he was a first-time offender, had no previous or pending cases against him, and was willing to hand over his passport and abide by any rules set by the court. The State did not oppose bail at the time.
Pretoria News