Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and co-accused Addy Moolman were convicted on dozens of fraud and theft charges in the Pretoria Regional Court on Thursday.
The State’s evidence against the pair was ”overwhelming”, Magistrate Peet Johnson told a packed courtroom.
Both had the intention to commit fraud, he said.
The trial was postponed to Friday for argument in mitigation and aggravation of sentence. Bail of both accused of R5 000 was extended.
The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) president and Moolman, a broker, pleaded not guilty to 60 fraud and 25 theft charges.
The fraud charges relate to loans obtained from Saambou Bank for non-ANCWL employees with the use of letters on the league’s letterheads and with Madikizela-Mandela’s signature.
These documents stated the applicants were employed by the league.
The theft charges pertain to amounts of R360 deducted from loan applicants’ bank accounts for a funeral policy which the State says was not underwritten.
Johnson found Madikizela-Mandela guilty on 43 charges of fraud and 25 of theft. Moolman was convicted on 58 charges of fraud and 25 of theft.
Handing down judgement amid a strong police presence, the magistrate rejected Madikizela-Mandela’s claim that she had not read the letters before signing them.
In at least a couple of cases she herself referred people to Moolman for loans while knowing they were not employed by the league.
”She exactly knew that she signed letters that would enable people to get loans to which they were not entitled,” Johnson said.
He found Madikizela-Mandela and Moolman had a common purpose in committing the crime.
”Both had the direct intent in each case to defraud Imstud and/or Saambou.”
Imstud was a brokerage that formed part of the loan scheme.
The magistrate found Moolman had given instructions for the premiums for the funeral policies to be deducted from the accounts of loan applicants.
”He had the intention to permanently deprive these people of their money.”
This Moolman did while knowing there was no arrangement for funeral cover.
The magistrate found Madikizela-Mandela was an accomplice to theft.
As a director of the Funeral and Legal Advisory Consultancy, (Falac), she was part of the plan for the funeral scheme.
She knew Moolman would arrange for the deduction of the premiums from the applicants’ accounts, Johnson said.
On two subsequent occasions, she gave permission for money to be taken from Falac’s account to be paid to Waki Gosani as salary.
Madikizela-Mandela testified Gosani was a Falac employee, but the court accepted other witnesses’ testimony that he in fact worked for her.
The trial got underway in July last year and proceeded in fits and starts, with 23 witnesses testifying for the State. Madikizela-Mandela and Moolman went into the witness box in their own defence.
Ishmael Semenya, counsel for Madikizela-Mandela, earlier insisted his client initiated the loan scheme for philanthropic reasons.
Francois Joubert, for Moolman, maintained his client had permission from a senior bank official to apply for loans for outsiders using ANCWL letters and fake details.
Saambou bent the rules because it wanted to get the business of the ANC itself, Joubert contended. – Sapa