Danny Jordaan, president of Safa, appears at Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on 15 August 2025. He stands accused of abusing Safa funds for personal benefit. (Photo: Gallo Images/OJ Koloti) 
Journalist-turned-businessman Trevor Neethling wants State Prosecutor Moagi Malebati to step down from handling the fraud case in which Neethling is one of the accused.
The PR specialist stands accused of fraud alongside South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan and the federation’s chief of finance Gronie Hluyo.
It is alleged that Neethling and his company Grit Communications were hired by Jordaan to cleanse the Safa boss’s public image, following a rape accusation in 2017. This was also ahead of the 2018 Safa elections. The accusation is that Jordaan illegally used Safa funds for his own benefit – flouting Safa protocols in the process.
Contentious emails
The last time the matter was in court, back in September 2025, the State revealed that it had gained access to Neethling’s emails. This after it subpoenaed telecommunications company Afrihost for the information, which it revealed amounted to 64 gigabytes of data.
It is these emails which have caused the latest delay in the case, which marks its one-year anniversary this month. Neethling, Jordaan and Hluyo were arrested on 13 November, 2024. But the matter has dragged on, with no end in sight and not even a formal trial date set.
According to Neethling’s legal representative, James Ndebele, some of the email information in Malebeti’s possession is sensitive; private correspondence between himself and his client after he was arrested last year.
“This is sensitive information because I was already before court with my client. All that information has been disclosed to the State,” Ndebele said at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 21 November.
Ndebele contends that the charges Neethling stands accused of are from 2017 to 2019. But the emails in the State’s possession are up until May 2025. Ndebele described this as “prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
But Malebeti denounced this, telling Magistrate Sheron Soko-Rantao: “At the moment I can safely say we don’t even know what they are talking about.”
Malebeti said with about 30,000 files contained in the emails, it’s impossible that he’s already seen this information which Neethling and Ndebele are so concerned about. But his counterpart countered by saying “we cannot take his word for it.”
State responds
“Today in court, accused number two (Neethling) indicated that he will be bringing an application for the prosecutor to recuse himself. That matter has been set for 9 December 2025, for the court to entertain his application,” the National Prosecuting Authority’s Johannesburg spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, told journalists.
“As the State we can confirm that we received documentation regarding that particular application. But we are yet to go through the application and respond,” she continued.
“We will not go into detail as the matter is yet to be heard in court. However, what they’ve indicated in court is that they want the prosecutor to recuse himself as he’s seen information that they say is client and attorney privileged information.
“As the State, we need to now go and verify whether indeed it is so. Or whether the information that is at the State’s disposal is that which will assist the investigation process.”
Russell Paul appears
Also in the dock on Friday morning – alongside Jordaan, Hluyo and Neethling – was former Safa acting CEO Russell Paul. The 64-year-old was arrested in early November and has been added as a co-accused.
It is alleged that Paul conspired with the other accused to commit fraud and theft by authorising payments to Neethling’s PR company, for personal services rendered to Jordaan. Paul was also represented by Jordaan and Hluyo’s lawyer – Victor Nkhwashu on Friday.
The trio is not part of Neethling’s bid to have prosecutor Malebeti removed from the matter. So, they will not be in court next month. Instead, they will all return to the dock on 11 February 2026.
That is the date the case has been postponed to. The State says it hopes this will be the day a trial date is finally set. DM