Legal representatives for the defence strongly opposed the swearing-in of a witness by the State in the Bloemfontein High Court on Monday during the first State Capture trial.
Waseema Harrison had already taken the stand and indicated that she was going to testify about the #GuptaLeaks. She was about to take the oath when Mike Hellens, the lawyer for two of the accused -- Ronica Ragavan and Islandsite Investments One Hundred and Eighty -- objected on the grounds that Harrison was expected to refer to hard drives involved in the #GuptaLeaks.
Hellens said it had to be determined whether the hard drives had been lawfully acquired and that the authenticity of documents that were part of the GuptaLeaks was also in question.
He said: "Apparently, the information comes from the Zondo Commission into State Capture." Hellens said there could be no room for provisionally admitting evidence and authenticating it later. He said the only way the testimony and documents could be before the court is if there is a trial within a trial, to first look at the evidence.
Read more about the GuptaLeaks here
State prosecutor Peter Serunye conceded to a trial within a trial and said the National...
