Majali to appear in court

[miningmx.com] — Businessman Sandile Majali, who is facing fraud charges, was expected to appear in the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Court again on Tuesday, his lawyer said.

Majali was released on bail on Saturday after an urgent application was lodged in the High Court in Johannesburg.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said the decision to release Majali would have major implications.

“We are still awaiting written judgment and once we study it we’ll decide on legal avenues to explore,” Mhaga told Sapa on Tuesday.

On Friday, Majali appeared in the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Court and was told he would remain behind bars until Tuesday when his bail application got underway.

He stands accused of fraud for his alleged role in the illegal removal of directors of mining company Kalahari Resources.

At court, the State said it did not have sufficient information to proceed with the bail application, and that money laundering and additional fraud counts may be added to the charge sheet. The case was postponed to October 26.

Majali appeared in the dock with four others, Haralambos Sferopoulous, Stephan Khoza, Elvis Bongani Ndala and Linda Welencia Dlamini.

The businessman was arrested on Thursday after an investigation revealed that the directorship of Kalahari Resources had been changed from Brian Amos Mashile and his sister Daphne Mashile-Nkosi to a group of eight individuals, including Majali.

He and seven others allegedly removed Kalahari Resources’ directors from the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) database in August.

An urgent interdict was brought before the High Court in Johannesburg last month. The court ruled that Cipro reinstate the siblings as directors of the company.

Kalahari Resources owns a 40% stake in Kalagadi Manganese, the mining company developing an R11bn manganese mine and sinter plant in the Northern Cape, as well as a smelter at Coega.

The Industrial Development Corporation owns 10% of Kalagadi Manganese, while steel producer ArcelorMittal owns the remaining 50 percent stake.

Majali came into the public eye following his role in the so-called Oilgate saga that saw him “donate” R11m of PetroSA’s funds to the ANC ahead of the 2004 elections.