A well-known Cape Flats construction family is set to sue the state after their boetie was cleared of theft and perjury charges by the Western Cape High Court.
Now the family of Ridwaan Rajah say they want the state departments who investigated him to be held accountable as the court case ‘obliterated’ his reputation and their business.
The director of Good Hope Construction was left traumatised after being sent to mang at Pollsmoor Prison for 25 days, following his conviction.
Several years ago, his elderly father, Ismail Rajah, was kidnapped and held in captivity for 111 days. He was rescued from a house in Khayelitsha just as his family were allegedly en route to Dubai to pay the ransom.
Last year the Hawks released a statement announcing Ridwaan’s conviction saying he was found guilty of deliberately misrepresenting financial statements relating to a tender awarded by the Department of Public Works to do internal and external renovations to the Parliamentary Precinct in Cape Town during 2010, to the sum of R500 000.
But his boeta Raziek maintained that this amount was only about R50 000 and was a legal retention fee with another company as per the contract.
Ridwaan was sentenced to seven years in jail for theft and perjury and fined, all of which was suspended.
The family subsequently lodged an appeal and last week the Western Cape High Court overturned the conviction.
The judges noted that the state prosecutor conceded that she failed to prove the theft charge per the charge sheet despite him being found guilty at the Commercial Crimes Court.
The judges found that the Magistrate had erred in convicting Ridwaan.
“It is a misdirection of fact and law.’’
Raziek tells the Daily Voice: “The conviction obliterated us and now that my brother’s name is cleared we will be suing the state for malicious prosecution because we want accountability from everyone who played a role here. My brother’s conviction, the kidnapping of my father and the false cases made against me are all a result of us speaking about state corruption.”