LEBOGANG SEALE
THREE of the four people, including two female bank employees, accused of stealing R1.1 million from Absa’s Jabulani Mall branch in Soweto, will spend their second Christmas behind bars.
Their case was postponed to February 14 for the commencement of trial.
Absa staffers Portia Dioka and Kate Kekana are accused of colluding with Leonard Moriti – Dioka’s husband – and Sydney Ngalo in stealing the cash.
Ngalo, said to be the kingpin, allegedly helped to transport the cash from the bank to a house in the township.
He was released on R5 000 bail by the Johannesburg High Court.
Bail for his three co-accused was denied by the Protea Magistrate’s Court.
The State has lined up five witnesses for the trial, which is set down for three days.
The four were arrested in June last year.
Dioka and Kekana had stopped working a day after the theft. Gauteng police said two weeks ago that an investigation had been opened against six police officers in connection with the stolen money.
This was after The Star reported that the cops allegedly returned only R280 000 of the stolen money and shared the rest among themselves.
Yesterday, the magistrate chastised lawyer Simon Senosi for being constantly absent from court. This was after his colleague, Kagiso Rakhuba, said Senosi had been delayed in the Johannesburg High Court on another matter.
“I can reasonably conclude Senosi is deliberately delaying this matter. It can’t carry on like this,” the magistrate said.