The corruption case against the suspended chief magistrate of Pretoria, Desmond Nair, was postponed for an external magistrate to be arranged to preside over the matter. 

Nair briefly appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday. 

Before the case was called, the magistrate, Ignatius du Preez, asked to see both the defence advocate and the State prosecutor in his chambers. 

Once the matter was before court, Du Preez explained that he had needed clarity from the legal teams about the proceedings.

This was because he had worked with Nair for a considerable amount of time and wanted to avoid any sort of scenario in which he could be conflicted.

It was precisely because of Nair's position as chief magistrate in Pretoria, and the fact that he would have worked with and alongside so many magistrates in the capital, that the State needed to ask for a postponement in order to find an external magistrate to hear the case.

There was also a similar issue with who would be prosecuting the matter, which is why the State brought in Bheki Manyathi, a prosecutor from KwaZulu-Natal. 

During Nair's first appearance, the court heard that he would be making representations as to why he should not be prosecuted. This issue was not dealt with in court on Wednesday. 

The matter was postponed to 23 February 2023.

Corruption charges

Nair has been charged with corruption after allegedly accepting the installation of security systems from Bosasa, valued at R200 000, at his Pretoria home, including a full electric fence, CCTV and alarm systems.

The chief magistrate was implicated by former Bosasa employee Richard le Roux in testimony at the State Capture Inquiry.

According to the charge sheet, Nair is accused of accepting a bribe from Bosasa in or near Silverton in September 2016, while he was a judicial officer and the chief magistrate of Pretoria.

News24 previously reported that Nair confirmed security cameras were installed at his private residence, but said this was "pursuant to a private agreement".