Iuze Mukube 

Setting up a trial date and assigning a trial judge in the criminal proceedings against self-proclaimed forex trader-turned-social activist Michael Amushelelo and co-accused Gregory Cloete is anticipated to be announced in May 2025. 

The matter has been delayed from proceeding so far due to a constitutional challenge, pertaining to a section of the Criminal Procedure Act lodged by the duo last year. 

Lawyer Kadhila Amoomo, representing the two accused, informed the court last week that an appeal for the constitutional challenge was unsuccessful due to failure on their part to file papers on time. 

The duo challenged the section of the Act which was used to collect evidence in the matter. 

The challenge sought a court order to declare the Act’s section 179(1)(b), which gives police officers the power to give a written notice to someone which requires the person to attend criminal proceedings in a lower court and produce specified documents and other evidence, as unconstitutional because it is vague and violates the constitutional protection of privacy. 

Amoomo requested that the matter be either postponed or allocated to a judge, as the case is still entangled with various issues such as a forfeiture application, and a review of the search warrant. 

After it was revealed that some judges had recused themselves from the case after being allocated the matter, Deputy Judge President Johanna Prinsloo decided to postpone the matter. 

Amushelelo and Cloete are facing 365 counts of fraud, alternatively theft by false pretences, conducting a banking business without authorisation, and conducting a Ponzi scheme, tax evasion, tax fraud, failure to pay tax, money-laundering and racketeering. 

It is alleged that the money which investors entrusted to the duo, believing their funds were to be traded in foreign exchange markets, was not invested, and that investors’ money was later used to pay back earlier ones’ funds. 

It is alleged the accused solicited the money from investors with promises of high returns on investments from September 2018 to October 2019. Judge Prinsloo reserved the allocation of a trial date and judge to 21 May 2025. 

-mukubeiuze@gmail.com