Scorpions advocate Portia Refiloe Kgantsi is to go to trial in the Johannesburg High Court on April 16 on 12 counts including fraud, corruption and extortion.
She was served with the indictment against her in the Randburg Regional Court on Wednesday.
Kgantsi (39) faces one count each of fraud, attempted theft and attempting to defeat the administration of justice; seven counts of corruption; and one each of extortion and furnishing the court with false information during an application for bail.
Wearing a black and white gingham outfit over a T-shirt, Kgantsi kept her arms folded across her chest for most of her court appearance, holding a pen in one hand while she used the other to play with her braids.
She intently studied the indictment and the attached summary of substantial facts after they were handed to her by a court orderly.
Her counsel, Michael Klass, asked the court to treat the dates set down for the trial — from April 16 to May 4 — as preliminary until he obtained further particulars including the police docket.
Prosecutor Geo Wassermann told the court the docket would be made available upon receipt of a formal written request.
Kgantsi was to have brought a bail application on new facts on Wednesday, but the court roll was too full to proceed.
Magistrate George Andrews postponed the application until December 13, ordering Kgantsi held in custody.
She was arrested on October and is being held at Diepkloof Prison.
In the court corridors, Klass said he had objected to a disciplinary hearing set up for Thursday as he found out about it only last week and was in any event not available.
”We also feel she’ll be tried before evidence is led in the actual matter,” he said.
Kgantsi has been suspended from her position.
According to the indictment, Kgantsi is accused of lying to the National Prosecuting Authority that she had no previous convictions to obtain a security clearance.
She is further accused of trying to steal ten bricks of hashish from the Scorpions and of trying to defeat the ends of justice by removing the hashish, which was an exhibit held pending the outcome of a criminal trial.
The indictment alleges that Kgantsi asked two accused for R10 000 to have their passports validated by the Department of Home Affairs, accepted a R3 000 payment to make unauthorised visits to them in the Sandton Police Station holding cells, later did so using a car rented by them at a cost of R6 000.
She also allegedly asked for R10 000 each to withdraw the charges against two other accused.
An eighth count accuses Kgantsi of asking for R30 000 to stop the Asset Forfeiture Unit from attaching property of the first two accused, R315,000 to have their case struck off the roll or the charges against them withdrawn, and R10 000 to take over the prosecution of their case.
She is accused of threatening that they would serve at least 15 years unless they paid her R40 000 cash.
The last count alleges that she lied about a previous conviction for theft of R400 during a previous bail application. – Sapa