Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s former financial adviser Addy Moolman is to finally start serving his four-year jail sentence, the Pretoria High Court heard on Monday.
Judge M Legodi on Monday dismissed with costs Moolman’s urgent application for bail, pending an application to the Constitutional Court about the constitutionality of his sentence.
The judge ordered Moolman to hand himself over to the clerk of the criminal court in Pretoria within five court days to start serving his sentence.
If he did not report, a warrant would be issued for his arrest. Moolman and Madikizela-Mandela were convicted in 2003 on charges of fraud and theft of more than R900 000 in the Pretoria Regional Court, relating to obtaining fraudulent bank loans from Saambou for ghost employees of the ANC’s Woman’s League of which Madikizela-Mandela was the president.
She was effectively sentenced to four years imprisonment and Moolman to five years. Two Pretoria High Court Judges in July last year confirmed their fraud convictions, but set aside the theft convictions.
Moolman was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to three years imprisonment, but the sentence was suspended.
The judges found that Moolman had not only defrauded his employer, but also enriched himself by earning commission.
Madikizela-Mandela, on the other hand, was motivated by wanting to help poor people to obtain loans and had not benefited financially.
The judges in February this year dismissed Moolmans’ application for leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence, but granted him bail pending the outcome of a petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal. The Appeal Court on November 1 turned down his petition.
Moolman last week approached the court on an urgent basis for bail, pending a planned application to the Constitutional Court.
He claimed his prison sentence violated his constitutional right to freedom, dignity, equality before the law and not to be unfairly discriminated against.
Moolman no longer contended his conviction on 58 counts of fraud, but said his constitutional rights were violated because Madikizela-Mandela was given a suspended sentence for the same crimes.
He claimed his role in the political struggle was not taken into account adequately.
Legodi said Moolman’s chances of success in the Constitutional Court were slim and it was in his best interest that he started serving his sentence.
He said the provisions of the Constitution did not suggest that persons convicted of the same offences could not be given different sentences.
Those who broke the law had to be punished. Those convicted of more serious crimes ran the risk of imprisonment. If convicted they could not say their right to freedom and dignity had been violated, Legodi added.
It was clear that the high court judges had given thorough consideration to the role each of the accused had played and each one’s specific personal circumstances and it was unlikely that the Constitutional Court would find the manner in which these issues were dealt with was unconstitutional, the judge said. – Sapa