Tony Yegeni’s appeal against fraud conviction today

Yengeni is to contest the verdict on the grounds that he was deceived into pleading guilty by former National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka. In an affidavit before the court, the politician claims Ngcuka reneged on a deal struck between the two of them and former Justice Minister Penuell Maduna at the latter\'s Johannesburg home in January 2003. It was agreed that Yengeni would plead guilty to the lesser of the charges against him in exchange for a fine of R5 000. ‘I accepted the arrangement even though I still felt that I was innocent of all the charges,’ he says. ‘I was satisfied that an agreement had been reached which would prevent a protracted trial.’ But prosecutors pressed for a heavy sentence – resulting in his four-year jail term, Yengeni claims. He accuses Ngcuka of never intending to honour the ‘agreement’. Full report on the IoL site