Gigaba corruption case postponed to May following hard drive evidence dispute

The corruption case against Malusi Gigaba and four co-accused will return to court in May, allowing for the disclosure of evidence and time to resolve a conflict-of-interest dispute involving his legal team.

This follows claims by his legal team that he needed R50,000 to buy a hard drive big enough to contain the volume of electronic evidence to be handed to the defence.

Gigaba faces one charge of receiving gratification.

ALSO READ:

State refuses to cover Malusi Gigaba’s legal costs

State raises conflict of interest in Malusi Gigaba's corruption case

Henry Mamatame, spokesperson for the Investigative Directorate against Corruption (IDAC), said the larger volume related to other Transnet-linked matters that were not directly before the court but were flagged to avoid delays in the trial.

“There has been correspondence between the state and Mr Gigaba’s attorneys regarding the hard drive for disclosure. The confusion around the 55 terabytes was cleared at this point, only five terabytes are required for the docket in this case,” Mamatame said.

Gigaba’s legal team told the court he had been unable to purchase a 55-terabyte hard drive as he awaited a response from the state to pay for his fees. The state attorney has declined a request to fund his legal fees