NPA withdraws charges against Nafcoc president over R14m

Theft and money laundering charges against National Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Gilbert Mosena have been withdrawn – six months after his arrest.

The charges were withdrawn on Wednesday in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

The charges related to R14m, which was not properly accounted for.

The R14m belonged to Nafcoc’s investment arm Silver Vanity where Mosena is also chief executive.

The National Prosecuting Authority’s regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane confirmed charges against Mosena had been withdrawn. 

In a letter dated January 30, addressed to Mosena’s lawyers, the regional head of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit adv Gideon Nkoane said there was inadmissible evidence to support and sustain a successful prosecution against their client.

Mosena’s lawyer James Ndebele welcomed the decision, saying his client had been vindicated.

Ndebele said the allegations against Mosena were not only “frivolous and vexatious, but unjustified, unfounded and lacked any merit in law and/or fact”.

“Such allegations were contemptuous, inflammatory and an abuse of [court] process and the criminal justice system.”

Nkosana Thobela, a former Gauteng Nafcoc Investment Trust trustee, previously told Sowetan that he had opened the case in 2019 after suspecting that the R14m, which had been paid by the department of public works to rent the Nafcoc-owned Pan-African parliament property in Midrand, had not been properly accounted for.

However, Ndebele said the criminal complaint against his client was lodged for nefarious and ulterior motives.

“It bears mentioning that the complainant’s allegations were previously investigated by the Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit, Johannesburg. After the allegations were considered and evaluated for what they were, a senior prosecutor withdrew the case on July 23 2019.

“This should have been the end of the matter. However, this did not serve the complainant and his associates. They were dissatisfied with the decision of the [unit],” Ndebele said. 

He said the criminal complaint and subsequent proceedings were part of a “devious stratagem, which was aimed at attempting to remove our client as president of Nafcoc”.

chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za