‘Pankie Sizani a poor witness, could not recall important facts’

Portia “Pankie” Sizani was a poor witness who could not remember important facts when cross-examined.

This was said in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Monday as closing arguments in her marathon fraud and money-laundering trial got under way.

Sizani, who allegedly siphoned off more than R1m from the Eastern Cape department of education, was not present in court, with her legal counsel citing ill health.

Sizani, 51, the wife of South Africa’s ambassador to Germany, Stone Sizani, has been charged with 16 counts of fraud and 10 of money laundering after allegedly creating “ghost” teachers and pocketing their salaries.

Since her first appearance in court in 2013, Sizani has been found not guilty on five other charges of money laundering and, in August 2018, was acquitted on one charge of fraud after the state failed to prove that she had paid a grade R teacher R15,000.

During closing arguments on Monday, state prosecutor advocate Ronelle Brink indicated that the state would not be pursuing one other charge of money laundering due to insufficient evidence.

Before the proceedings started, Sizani’s legal representative, advocate Johan Wessels, told the court Sizani had taken ill and was unable to be present, though she was in Port Elizabeth.

Wessels said Sizani had been ill since last week.

She had indicated to Wessels’s instructing attorney on Friday that she would be at court but, on Monday morning, a message had been sent stating that she was still sick.

Magistrate Mputumi Mpofu issued a warrant of arrest for Sizani, but ruled that it be held over until her next appearance.

Wessels told the court he was prepared to continue with the heads of argument in Sizani’s absence as she had been provided with copies by the state and the defence.

It is alleged that between 2009 and 2010, while Sizani was an Early Childhood Development (ECD) district co-ordinator for the education department, she had created “ghost” teachers and took their salaries, amounting to R1.2m.

Brink told the court Sizani was vague during her testimony and could not remember important facts under crossexamination.

A litany of state witnesses testified previously that assumption of duty forms had been completed and signed off by Sizani for teachers to take up positions at schools in and around Port Elizabeth.

Brink said all the forms had to be signed by the relevant school principals before being sent to the department’s human resources department and then the finance department.

But all the forms had been signed by Sizani before being processed.

Brink told the court that Sizani denied any wrongdoing and claimed she was “thrown in the deep end without any guidelines”.

Sizani was one of two people who worked in the ECD at the time.

Brink said all the state witnesses were reliable, honest and credible, even though some had made errors in recalling specific dates.

“Mistakes were made by witnesses and some were hesitant to testify,” she said.

Brink said “no normal processes” were followed in the appointment of the teachers, which amounted to fraud.

Once money was paid into the bank accounts of the teachers, the money would be withdrawn either on the same day or soon thereafter.

The case continues.