Court dismisses bid by lawyer, co-accused to be acquitted in R45m fraud case

• Lawyer Zuko Nonxuba and his alleged accomplice Nzimeni Hendrew Deda were unsuccessful in their bid to be acquitted on fraud charges in the East London Regional Court.
• The pair allegedly approached families with children living with disabilities to get them to launch false negligence claims against the Eastern Cape health department. 
• The claims were contested by the department, and as a result, no settlements were made. The department would have suffered a total loss of just of over R45.2 million.

The East London Regional Court has dismissed an application by a lawyer and his alleged accomplice to be acquitted of fraud charges after they allegedly approached parents of children with disabilities to launch false negligence claims against the Eastern Cape health department.

On Monday, lawyer Zuko Nonxuba and his alleged accomplice Nzimeni Hendrew Deda appeared in court, where their defence team was expected to present its case. 

"The defence instead applied to have the case discharged, claiming that the State failed to prove its case against the accused. The prosecutor, advocate Luthando Makoyi, opposed the application and argued that the accused had a case to answer to. The court dismissed the application on the basis that the alleged fraudulent claims were indeed served to the Bhisho and Mthatha High Courts and to the office of the MEC for Health," said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani.

According to the State, Nonxuba, a director of a law firm based in Gauteng, and Deda, who allegedly acted as Nonxuba's agent, approached three parents with disabled and medically impaired children for purposes of unlawfully lodging civil claims of medical negligence against the health department.

Nonxuba allegedly promised the families money, houses and international medical care for their children.

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"It is alleged that the parents who were approached did not have legitimate claims as their children's disabilities and medical impediments could not be attributed to the [provincial health department]. The children were allegedly not born in hospitals, but at their parental homes. It is alleged that Nonxuba, however, informed the parents that they had legitimate claims and were entitled to payments from the [department] as relief for their children's conditions," said Ngcakani.

In November 2015, Nonxuba allegedly issued summons against the department to the value of R45 279 000, claiming R15 093 000 on behalf of each parent. 

Ngcakani said:

Nonxuba also faces a separate fraud charge in Mthatha to the tune of  R45 million, that he will be back in court for on 3 December. 

He and Deda will be back in court on 17 and 18 March 2022 for the defence to commence with its case.