Trial date set for Cheeky Watson

Former EP Kings president, Cheeky Watson, accused of fraud and money laundering, among other charges, appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court along with his co-accused on Friday.

The case, which involves millions of rands earmarked for the beleaguered IPTS project and allegedly used fraudulently by Watson and his co-accused, has been set down for the trial to start on 20 August, 2018. 

Watson has been charged with 43 counts of fraud and money-laundering.

He is charged along with former assistant director in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s finance department Nadia Gerwel; Zeranza director Andrea Wessels; a former director of Laphum’ilanga Transport Services, Mandisi Mkasa; and former Access Facilities and Leisure Management chief executive Stephan Pretorius.

Watson, Gerwel, Wessels and Mkasa all appeared in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court yesterday. Pretorius was not in court. His legal representative, Alwyn Griebenow, told magistrate Lionel Lindoor that his client was unable to travel and asked that the court hold over his warrant of arrest until his next court appearance when the matter goes to trial.

Mkasa, Wessels, and Wessels’ company Zeranza – which is also being charged – are represented by Uitenhage attorney Andre Dorfling.

Gerwel is represented by attorney Danie Gouws.

Pretorius was unable to attend his previous court appearance due to medical reasons.

He currently lives in the Western Cape.

Lindoor ordered that the outstanding warrant of arrest for Pretorius be stayed and his bail be extended.
Advocate Francois van Zyl SC, representing Watson, told the court he had still not received the final charge sheet from the state.

He requested this by the end of the month.

“We have been supplied with a draft charge sheet and have been requesting the final one [to no avail],” Van Zyl said.

State prosecutor Tjaart van Zyl confirmed the final charge sheet would be completed and submitted to all necessary parties by the end of the month.

He said there would be no additional charges added at this stage.

It is alleged that Gerwel and Wessels used an events management company, ESP Africa, as a vehicle to launder the money, but when that was no longer viable, they turned to Access, and after that, to EP Rugby.

Following a lengthy probe by the Hawks into the alleged corrupt activities surrounding the R208-million meant for the city’s IPTS, all the accused handed themselves over at the Mount Road police station in March last year.

All were granted R2 000 bail.

The much-anticipated trial is set to start on August 20.