Bail for retired army general accused of tender graft

A retired South African National Defence Force brigadier-general has been arrested in connection with alleged irregularities relating to a R2m tender for heat-resistant buffs and military goggles for soldiers undertaking peacekeeping missions in the Darfur region of Sudan. Mendis Mondlane yesterday appeared in the Pretoria Commercial Crime Court alongside co-accused Mugisha Mwali after military police arrested them on Wednesday, according to a News24 report. Mondlane has been charged with three counts of fraud, and Mwali, the director of Phomolo Enterprises, which was awarded the contract in February 2016, has one fraud charge against him. The charges stem from alleged misrepresentations made in support of the awarding of the tender. Brigadier General Linda John Selepe, the director of Peace Support Operations, motivated for the equipment, citing the need to prevent sickness caused by dust. The state alleges that on 14 December 2015, Mondlane signed a written request to have Phomolo Enterprises as the service provider for the supply and delivery of the requested equipment. At the time, Mondlane was based in the Joint Operational Headquarters Division: Directorate Joint Operational Support. In January 2016, the Central Procurement Service Centre submitted a memorandum to the Department of Defence's Corporate Commercial Procurement Sub-Committee to approve the request to deviate from the normal procurement process, which was approved. The general has also been accused of lying about Phomolo having had experience in supplying military hardware and meeting the requirements and turnaround time for delivery of the equipment. Meanwhile, Mwali has been accused of misrepresenting his company's VAT registration number and that he didn't have any interests in other companies. They both intend to plead not guilty. The matter has been postponed to 17 July.

See also full report in The Star

Full News24 report