The State was left with egg on their face after a defence lawyer in a high-profile extortion case claimed police messed up a crucial statement from a star witness.
According to the advocate for alleged underworld kingpin, Nafiz Modack, cops “committed possible fraud” when they submitted official statements and affidavits from State witness Stuart Bailey, where the dates, case numbers and commissioner of oaths’ signatures were different and unknown to the witness.
On Wednesday, Bailey testified that he opened a case with Anti-Gang Unit Captain Sharon Japhta, who called him to their offices in Barrack Street on 5 November 2017.
Under cross-examination on Thursday, he told the court: “I told her what happened and she wrote my statement as I dictated it.
“She read back my statement. I read it. She asked me to sign it, she dated it, (but) I am not sure if she signed it,” Bailey testified.
Modack’s lawyer, advocate Dirk Uys, then asked if Japhta, who is a commissioner of oaths, had administered the oath to him and Bailey replied: “No.”
Major General Sharon Japhta. Picture supplied
“Did anyone else ask you anything pertaining to your statement?” Uys asked and Bailey replied in the negative.
Uys then told the court his client believes police are conspiring against him.
“My client is of the view they are victims of a certain measure of police conspiracy,” Uys submitted.
Modack and his co-
accused, Colin Booysen, Ashley Fields and Jacques Cronje, are on trial at the Cape Town Regional Court for money laundering and extortion, linked to a violent takeover of the nightclub security industry in the Cape.
The group was nabbed in December 2017 for allegedly trying to extort R90 000 from The Grand Africa Cafe and Beach near the V&A Waterfront.
Bailey is the former chief operations officer for the Harbour House Group which owned 70% of The Grand Africa Cafe and Beach.
Uys said it appeared police bungled their own case.
“Going through (Bailey’s) statement, a cop from Central Cape Town SAPS, a Sergeant Davids’ signature appears on the affidavit and he says he was the commissioner of oaths.
“The date stamped
is 6 November 2017. It says this was signed at Cape
Town SAPS.”
Nafiz Modack leaves Cape Town Regional court. Picture: Noor Slamdien
But Bailey replied that he didn’t know who Davids was.
Uys then produced the official SAPS statement form that Bailey allegedly filled out with Japhta.
“The date on this form says 8 November 2017. The left hand of the documents say this was done at Table Bay Harbour SAPS and the next line the criminal administration system (CAS or case number) is 51/12/2017,” Uys submitted.
Magistrate Byron Pedro explained to Bailey that the information on the form does not correspond with his testimony in court, as it shows the matter was only registered as a case in December and not in November as he stated.
Uys then submitted: “We have irregularities with this statement: no oath was administered, someone called Davids stamped and signed it, the case numbers don’t correspond with the time frame. I’d suggest a form of fraud is at play here.”
The trial continues.