‘Tender scam’ MPL falls ill at court
IFP MPL Hassan Motala has reportedly been hospitalised after falling ill shortly after his bail application in a multi-million rand housing tender case was postponed.
|||Durban - FP MPL Hassan Motala’s hopes of being freed on bail were thwarted on Tuesday when the magistrate presiding over his hearing was sick and the matter adjourned.
Motala, in police custody since May 11, is allegedly involved in a multimillion-rand housing tender scam offering fake contracts to build low-cost houses for the Department of Human Settlements.
Durban Commercial Crime Court magistrate, Christobelle Mazibuko, adjourned the matter until Thursday, sending Motala back to the holding cells.
However, when he left the courtroom with his lawyer and the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Yoganathan Govender, the politician became sick.
The Daily News had reported that the court heard on Monday that the accused required hospitalisation for chest pains and sleep apnoea.
After on Tuesday’s proceedings, a police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said Motala was taken to a private hospital in Durban.
In a brief interview with the Daily News on Tuesday, Motala maintained his innocence.
“I’ve worked with the police for eight months, providing them with credible information which led to the arrest of accused one and two.”
The IFP said it was in no position to take any action on the matter at this stage. Party spokesman, Blessed Gwala, said the party had not been officially informed about Motala’s arrest.
“Motala spoke of a conspiracy against him, but he didn’t elaborate on who instigated that conspiracy. We can only pay attention to the matter once all the court processes have been exhausted and a court decision is made,” he said.
Daily News