20 South African parliamentarians in court over ‘Travelgate’ scam

CAPE TOWN – Twenty South African sitting lawmakers and one former MP appeared in a Cape Town magistrate’s court yesterday for allegedly defrauding parliament in a multi-million-dollar “Travelgate” scandal.

Three current and one former lawmaker from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party appeared for the first time along with 17 others who made their court debut in February on charges of misusing travel vouchers, but the magistrate adjourned the case until July 28. The state, in a new twist, proposed that the case should be transferred to the Cape Town High Court where it wanted all the MPs to be tried together, but defence lawyers opposed the move.”We do not want to go to the high court, we want to be tried here if we should be tried,” said a lawyer representing ANC MP Seth Nthai.”We do not believe that the charges justify the case to be taken to the high court.This was echoed by a lawyer representing an MP from the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, who also said that the case would drag on for years if the accused were tried en masse.”We believe that the MPs did not commit these acts as a collective but on their own and they should not be tried in a mass trial,” said Frank Raymond, who is representing DA lawmaker Antoinette Verfeld.”If they are tried together the case could take years and everybody would be in financial ruin,” Raymond told AFP.The lawmakers face charges relating to a travel scam involving the misuse of travel vouchers intended to cover the cost of travel from parliament in Cape Town to the members’ constituencies.They are accused of defrauding parliament of as much as 17 million rand.The MPs allegedly colluded with several travel agents – who also face graft charges – to make false claims and inflate the price of air tickets to cover the costs of luxury car rentals and hotel accommodation.Seven ANC MPs have already been convicted after they entered plea bargain agreements with the prosecuting authorities.They were fined between 40 000 rands and 80 000 rands and given suspended jail terms.Last week the ANC said it would expel its lawmakers who were found guilty in acts of fraud and corruption.- Nampa-AFPThe state, in a new twist, proposed that the case should be transferred to the Cape Town High Court where it wanted all the MPs to be tried together, but defence lawyers opposed the move.”We do not want to go to the high court, we want to be tried here if we should be tried,” said a lawyer representing ANC MP Seth Nthai.”We do not believe that the charges justify the case to be taken to the high court.This was echoed by a lawyer representing an MP from the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, who also said that the case would drag on for years if the accused were tried en masse.”We believe that the MPs did not commit these acts as a collective but on their own and they should not be tried in a mass trial,” said Frank Raymond, who is representing DA lawmaker Antoinette Verfeld.”If they are tried together the case could take years and everybody would be in financial ruin,” Raymond told AFP.The lawmakers face charges relating to a travel scam involving the misuse of travel vouchers intended to cover the cost of travel from parliament in Cape Town to the members’ constituencies.They are accused of defrauding parliament of as much as 17 million rand.The MPs allegedly colluded with several travel agents – who also face graft charges – to make false claims and inflate the price of air tickets to cover the costs of luxury car rentals and hotel accommodation.Seven ANC MPs have already been convicted after they entered plea bargain agreements with the prosecuting authorities.They were fined between 40 000 rands and 80 000 rands and given suspended jail terms.Last week the ANC said it would expel its lawmakers who were found guilty in acts of fraud and corruption.- Nampa-AFP