DA EXPRESS CONCERN AS CHARGES AGAINST SENIOR KZN MUNICIPAL OFFICIAL ARE DROPPED

THE Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has expressed its concern following developments which saw charges against senior provincial municipal official and former Uthukela mayor, Stanley Dladla, dropped, allegedly due to lack of a solid case.

According to reports, Dladla and six men were earlier charged with possession of illegal firearms and suspicion of dealing in gold and diamonds.  A police spokesperson confirmed that the charges were dropped due to "no prospect of a successful conviction".

This after the men produced licences for the weapons and a diamond weighing scale and jewellery cleaning chemical were found not to be in their possession.  DA KZN Provincial and legislature leader, Sizwe Mchunu, said that he was disappointed that the legal process had been brought to a halt.

"The situation leaves much to be desired - the earlier lack of clarity from police on both the incident itself, or the outcome of the hearing, are disturbing.  The ideal would have been for the legal process to continue so that Dladla could have either cleared his name or be found guilty in a court of law.  The DA sincerely hopes that this incident will not set a precedent and that it has not compromised the integrity of our country's judicial system."

Statement issued by Sizwe Mchunu, MPP, DA KZN Legislature Leader/Provincial Leader, July 27 2011

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