Kgosisephuthabatho Gustav Lekabe, the former head of the Johannesburg Office of the State Attorney, is now shifting the responsibility for unlawful payments amounting to millions of rand to some of his subordinates. Lekabe stands accused of authorising over R32 million in payments, mostly routed through disgraced advocate Hassim Ebrahim Kajee, who allegedly charged for services that were never rendered, double-billed for the same work, submitted duplicate invoices, and inflated charges for services provided.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is also seeking the return of R27 million from Kajee, stemming from an allegedly corrupt and collusive relationship with Lekabe. The SIU is additionally demanding that Lekabe repay the R32 million through five separate claims ranging from R300,000 to R27 million.
In response, Lekabe has approached the Special Tribunal with a series of special pleas. These pleas aim to challenge the SIU’s decision not to include all the lawyers, departments, senior state officials, and entities involved in the approval and processing of payments to Kajee. Lekabe contends that although he authorised 40% of the payments to Kajee, other attorneys were more directly involved in the disbursements, and he believes these parties should also be held accountable. He argued that if they are excluded from the case, they would not have the opportunity to defend their actions regarding the payments Kajee received.
Lekabe further insisted that the SIU’s failure to join the relevant parties, including other officials and departments, would result in unfair findings against him, particularly since he was not the sole official responsible for approving all the payments. While Lekabe acknowledged approving some of Kajee’s invoices, he pointed to other instances where he was not the person who officially authorised the payment.
Moreover, Lekabe’s special pleas also included claims that the State Attorney’s Office never represented the national Health Ministry in the matters related to the invoices Kajee submitted, which are part of the SIU’s claims against him. He argued that this meant he was wrongly cited in the case.
The SIU, however, has rejected Lekabe’s special pleas, asserting that the fact remains that he did sign off on some of the payments. As a result, Lekabe must still answer for at least the undisputed payments he authorised. The unit made it clear that his special pleas would not prevent the investigation from moving forward.
Judge Margaret Victor, president of the Special Tribunal, delivered a significant ruling against Lekabe’s efforts to introduce third parties into the proceedings. She stated that it would be impermissible to amend the case in such a way, highlighting that an amendment of this nature could not be used to circumvent proper legal procedures, even if it were seen as convenient or just. Consequently, Judge Victor dismissed Lekabe’s application with costs.
Meanwhile, Kajee, who was arrested by the Hawks in 2023, faces multiple fraud charges. After his arrest, he appeared before the Johannesburg Regional Court, where he was granted R20,000 bail. In the same year, Kajee was also struck off the roll of advocates, a further blow to his already tarnished reputation. The case continues to unfold as Lekabe and Kajee face the consequences of their alleged actions in the financial corruption scandal.
