PE church leader guilty of R3m fraud

Port Elizabeth – A well-known Port Elizabeth church leader has been found guilty of fraud involving about R3m, Netwerk24 reports. 

The Commercial Crime Court in Port Elizabeth on Thursday found Bishop Samuel Mzukisi Banzana guilty of four counts of fraud.

Between 2004 and 2009, Banzana accepted bribes from a construction company to award it tenders for building hundreds of low-cost RDP houses.

Broadcaster eNCA reported in May 2013 that Banzana is the manager of the Mzingisi Development Trust, which ANC veteran Govan Mbeki founded. The trust builds RDP houses in the Port Elizabeth area.

The bribes amounted to millions of rands. Banzana used the money to pay for a luxury house in Lovemore and to buy cars including a Nissan Pathfinder and a BMW.

The money was not paid directly to Banzana. 

The Asset Forfeiture Unit had already confiscated possessions worth about R2.9m from Banzana. An amount of R378 000 was still outstanding. 

He would be sentenced on July 17.