'Billionaire's high life shackled'
Lamba in court for fraud, theft
SELF-PROCLAIMED billionaire Mandla Lamba will return to the Orlando magistrate's court next Tuesday to apply for bail.
Lamba, 25, who faces fraud and theft charges, yesterday arrived in court in leg irons and sandwiched between two police officers.
He has an outstanding case of culpable homicide in Roodepoort.
Lamba was not asked to plead and he did not make any request to the court.
The case was postponed.
Although there were no relatives, the court was packed and many of those sitting in the gallery left the courtroom when his case was postponed.
A man and a woman said they were his "close friends" but would not comment any further.
Another woman who is thought to be his girlfriend covered her face with a white scarf when she saw photographers.
Lamba allegedly swindled taxi owners of thousands of rands with the promise he would get them new vehicles.
It is alleged he approached several taxi owners and promised to help them acquire new taxis, provided they deposited R40,000 into his account.
After the money was deposited, the victims never got their vehicles. Lamba disappeared and the owners opened cases of fraud and theft in 2008. He also absconded when the case was in its final stages.
Police said Lamba was involved in a freak car accident in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, in 2007. Wayne Greeff and his 8-year-old son Brandon were killed in the horrific crash.
He was charged with culpable homicide but absconded when the case was about to be finalised.
He has a warrant of arrest pending against him for the case.
Police could not say yesterday when Lamba was expected to appear in court to face the culpable homicide charges.
Lamba came under the spotlight last year when he claimed that he was a "mining billionaire".
He claimed that he and his company, East American Resources , were worth "billions".
He also claimed that business magnate and ANC heavyweight Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Dr Tshepo Motsepe were his "mentors, counsellors and parental guiders".