Accept that Case Against Me was Trumped Up

Prosecutors walked away with bloodied noses in the long-running fraud case against mining boss Roger Kebble yesterday after magistrate Vivian Hawkins lost patience with the incessant delays and struck the case from the court roll.

In what Kebble's son, Brett, claimed as a vindication of the view that Roger Kebble was being persecuted, Hawkins ordered the "matter be struck off the roll and can't proceed without the written permission of the director of public prosecutions".

After more than two years constructing the case against Kebble and 16 court appearances, this is a sharp setback for prosecutors and a painful reminder of their failure to bring several other corporate high-fliers to trial. It may spur them on in a number of other high-profile cases, which have been dogged by delays. These include the cases against Tigon CEO Gary Porritt and Regal Bank CEO Jeff Levenstein, both of whom were arrested two years ago but have yet to reach trial.

Kebble was arrested in November 2002, and his trial was to begin yesterday, before the state requested another postponement on the basis of "new evidence (that) had come to light". But in a scathing ruling, Hawkins said another delay would be unreasonable and cause "substantial prejudice" to Kebble's life and career.

There were "certainly strong indications" that the state had been tardy in its prolonged investigations. "It seems the state was shifting the goalposts, adding (evidence) and witnesses along the way," Hawkins said.

But Sipho Ngwema, spokesman for the crime-fighting Scorpions unit that investigated Kebble, said the turn of events was "not a victory for anybody".

"This doesn't make any difference. This gives us time to reevaluate all the new material, and if we think there are sufficient grounds for us to continue then we will put it back on the roll."

There are a number of new items that have come to light, notably a leaked legal opinion from the prosecutor, Barry Roux, suggesting that the state's case against Kebble appeared to be flimsy.

Kebble was apparently given Roux's legal opinion by an anonymous source. This prompted former judge Willem Heath, who is now working for the Kebbles, to write to acting director of public prosecutions Silas Ramaite on January 3.

"Taking into account the weaknesses pointed out by Advocate Roux in the case for the prosecution, we would like to assume that you have revised your decision to prosecute," he wrote.

Commentators said yesterday that it appeared the state had bungled the case.

Institute for Security Studies analyst Anthony Altbeker said it was an indictment that the state was still not ready to proceed after an investigation lasting more than two years.

"Justice has to be swift to be fair but having said that, a lot of commercial crime is very complicated," said Altbeker.

Kebble, who has maintained that the case was fabricated as part of a long-running feud with his rivals at DRDGold, now plans to sue a number of parties for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution. Heath said the state, DRDGold, its CEO Mark Wellesley-Wood and corporate intelligence company Associated Intelligence Networks would be targeted in a civil suit.

Kebble said it was "disgraceful" that a case based on "bogus charges" dragged on for so long, describing it as a "two-year period of abuse designed by a business rival to discredit and embarrass me".

With acknowledgements to Rob Rose and the Business Day.