Police management in the Western Cape has moved to clarify that the housing tender fraud investigation into Ralph Stanfield and 11 others, including the former MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Cape Town, is still on track.

This is despite the provisional withdrawal of commercial charges by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Advocate Nicolette Bell, on Friday, 23 May.

Police say it is not uncommon in complex investigations for the direction of the investigation to change in recognition of new and additional information that emerges as part of the investigation.

Brigadier Novela Potelwa says in this case, commercial crimes investigators became privy to new information that will now be incorporated into the investigation.

She says it is envisaged that the commercial charges provisionally withdrawn will be reinstated in due course.

Potelwa says the decision to provisionally withdraw charges is by no means an indication of failure on the part of investigators.

“Rather a change in direction, taking into account the legal framework within which as a law enforcement agency the SAPS is compelled to operate.”

It is alleged that Booi accepted cash and other gratifications from Stanfield and his associates in exchange for illegally obtaining City of Cape Town’s housing tenders.

The fraudulent tenders involved in the scheme allegedly amounted to approximately R1 billion.

READ: Former Human Settlements MMC Malusi Booi in dock over housing tender graft

Booi is currently out on bail, while Stanfield and his wife, Nicole Johnson, remain behind bars as they face separate charges unrelated to the tender fraud case.

In September last year, one of the co-accused in the case was shot dead in Mitchell’s Plain.