Cope Western Cape leader charges Lekota with fraud

A fraud case has been opened against Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota, days after he suspended party treasurer Hilda Ndude for alleged financial mismanagement, the Sunday Times reported.

Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed a case of fraud had been opened.

Cope Western Cape leader Mbulelo Ncedana laid the complaint on Friday, accusing Lekota of corruption and mismanagement.

Lekota was unaware of the case and disputed the allegations.

“The claim is nonsense. When a criminal tricks you, does that make you a criminal?” he was quoted as saying.

Ncedana said that while it might be true that Ndude had mismanaged funds, she did so with Lekota, who “was signatory to the very accounts which were mismanaged,” reported the Sunday Times.

The funds in question, according to Ncedana, were given to the party from the Independent Electoral Commission.

The newspaper reported that the allegations against Lekota were made after the party’s provincial branch scrutinised Cope’s finances following Ndude’s suspension.

According to documents Lekota co-signed a payment of R300 000 into Ndude’s personal credit card account in April 2011, had a petrol card with between R5000 and R13 000 in monthly bills which the party never authorised, and received more than R100 000 via transfers from Cope’s head office to his personal accounts between May 2010 and December 2011.

Ndude declined to comment when contacted.

Lekota denied any wrongdoing and defended his expulsion of Ndude.

He said Ndude was reported after she had “tricked” both himself and co-signatory Deidre Carter into approving the transfers into accounts of Ndude’s relatives.

Cope spokesperson Buks Mahlangu said the party would deal with the matter if evidence of wrongdoing was presented against Lekota.—Sapa