DA disappointed after Estina dairy farm case thrown out of court
The High Court in Bloemfontein struck the case from the roll on the back of an application from the defence in terms of section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act, which deals with unreasonable delays.
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JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it's disappointed that the Estina dairy farm case was thrown out of court on Wednesday.
The High Court in Bloemfontein struck the case from the roll on the back of an application from the defence in terms of section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act, which deals with unreasonable delays.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has since indicated that it plans on reinstating the case.
In the meantime, though, this is the latest in a series of blows they’ve suffered in the past two years when it comes to State capture cases.
The Estina scandal allegedly saw hundreds of millions of rands intended for poor black farmers in the Free State, find their way into the Guptas’ back pockets.
And the DA points to the devastating impact of the scandal on the would-be beneficiaries and the communities.
The party’s Roy Jankielsohn: "This is a huge setback for the fight against corruption and State capture in South Africa, and is the reason why people are losing faith in our criminal justice system."
This is the second time the Estina case has been dropped.
Back in 2018, several people were arrested but the NPA then provisionally withdrew the charges against them.
The case was then reinstated again in 2022 before being struck from the roll on Wednesday.
The DA is, however, optimistic that the looming reinstatement of the case will have a better outcome “the third time around”.