Senior Scorpions prosecutor Portia Refiloe Kgantsi accepted R12 000 in cash and R6 000 in car hire from two awaiting-trial prisoners who relied on her help to beat their fraud charges, the prisoners told the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday.
One of the prisoners, Issa Mohamadou, told the court that he and co-accused John Affolabi, who has since died, paid Kgantsi R3 000 to ensure she had money for petrol so she could always visit them as they relied on her advice on how to proceed in the fraud case against them.
Kgantsi was at the time responsible for legal aspects of an investigation into the case.
Mohamadou told the court that Kgantsi had advised them to plea bargain with the Scorpions so they could get off with a fine.
Mohamadou, a Nigerian citizen, told the court they were worried when Kgantsi failed for two days to visit them in the Sandton police station cells.
”I told John [Affolabi] to call her and ask what was happening,” he said.
”She said that she had not come to visit us as she did not have fuel in her car. We asked her to come over the following day and John told her that he’d organise something for her.”
That night Mohamadou said he had called a ”brother” to bring R3 000 early the next morning.
”I gave John the money to give to her as we needed her. She had become a demigod to us, as she was doing the main job that even our attorney was not doing,” said Mohamadou.
When a weekend again passed with no visit from Kgantsi, Mohamadou and Affolabi called her and she told them her car had broken down.
Mohamadou said he then contacted his friend at Europcar rentals and organised car rental worth R6 000 for Kgantsi. The vehicle was handed over to Kgantsi at the police station.
Earlier in the day, Mohamadou testified that Kgantsi took a R9 000 bribe to validate Affolabi’s passport.
”She told us that the damage of our case was the two Malawian passports found in Affolabi’s office. One of the passports was in Affolabi’s real name and the other one had a different name,” Mohamadou said.
”She told us that she knew a man at home affairs who can help us validate the passport under Affolabi’s name and asked Affolabi what he would offer as an ‘appreciation’.”
Affolabi phoned a friend who brought R10 000 the same day.
A total of R9 000 of this was passed on to Kgantsi in two instalments.
Kgantsi, who faces charges of bribery, corruption, extortion and defeating the ends of justice, smiled at Mohamadou when he entered the court in shackles.
Wearing a light-brown track suit, Kgantsi took notes during the proceedings while playing with her braids. During intervals she spoke to her family and exchanged rings with a relative.
Kgantsi was arrested in October after she was found with R40 000 believed to have been paid to her by the two awaiting-trial prisoners.
She was denied bail last year by the Randburg Regional Court, which found that she was a flight risk.
The trial continues. — Sapa