A mammoth judgment got underway on Thursday in the R1.2 million fraud case against Portia “Pankie” Sizani, wife of SA’s ambassador to Germany and former ANC chief whip Stone Sizani.
The judgment which has been set down for two days at the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court got off to a slow start. Magistrate Mputumi Mpofu, for close on five hours, gave a summary of the voluminous evidence presented at the trial.
On Friday Mpofu is expected to evaluate the evidence.
Two years ago, Portia Sizani was found not guilty on five of the 15 counts of money laundering against her. The five counts Sizani was acquitted of relate to witnesses that could not be traced.
She was subsequently also discharged on a sixth charge of money laundering.
However, she still faces 16 counts of fraud and 9 counts of money laundering.
According to the State, Sizani allegedly defrauded the Eastern Cape Education Department out of more than R1.2 million by processing several fraudulent applications for Grade R teaching posts.
Sizani was arrested in December 2012 and the trial was delayed for more than a year due to her apparent ill health.
African News Agency (ANA)
