Cape Town – Former DA Mayco member Malusi Booi has been slapped with R250,000 bail and ordered by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court to return to his Eastern Cape farm before he appears alongside alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield.
This comes amid a R1 billion tender corruption case in which Booi is accused of abusing his powers as the City of Cape Town human settlements mayco member to ensure Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson obtained various government tenders. Booi was arrested alongside Suraya Manual, Abdul Kader Davids, Mohammed Amod, Brenda and Randall Mullins, Thuli Imgib, his ex-wife Nomvuyo Mnyaka, ex-girlfriend Lorna Ndoda, and former colleague Siphokazi September.
During bail arguments, the State did not oppose Booi’s release, but his lawyer, Luzuko Guma, told the court his client could not afford the proposed R200,000 bail, and instead proposed R5,000.
The State prosecutor also revealed Booi had allegedly banked a whopping R2.5 million in cash from the Stanfields, and in addition was gifted Rolex watches worth R2m.
Mnyaka’s legal representative, Ben Mathewson, revealed she had separated from Booi years ago and obtained an interim protection order in 2022.
He claimed the Rolex watch and R20,000 given to Mnyaka was a gift from “husband to wife”.
But State prosecutor advocate Nathan Adriaanse said the watch, worth R690,000, was gifted to her by Stanfield along with the money.
Mathewson also provided insurance papers, saying the watch was covered for R79,000, adding that his client was not involved in the obtaining or granting of tenders.
In handing down her judgment yesterday, Magistrate Alida Theart told Booi and the others that they had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the bail amounts they proposed.
She highlighted that they had not provided payslips or bank statements to support their affidavits for a reduced amount. Gasps were heard in court when Magistrate Theart slapped Booi and four others with a bail amount of R250,000 each, despite the State only asking for R200,000.
Among those are Davids and Amod, accused of colluding with Stanfield when bidding for City of Cape Town tenders.
The duo were outed by City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo in July this year, who told the Cape Argus that he had blacklisted them after a handwriting expert found collusion with Johnson’s company.
Couple Randall and Brenda Mullins, who are the owners of RJ Mullins Developers and have also been blacklisted by the City for working with a company affiliated with Stanfield, received bail of R250,000 each.
Manual, who is employed at Glomixx CC, was slapped with bail of R150,000, while Mnayaka – along with Imgib, Ndoda and September – was granted R25,000 bail.
The case has been postponed to October 16, when Booi and his co-accused are expected to appear alongside Stanfield and Johnson.