Safa president Danny Jordaan has theft charges withdrawn but still faces prosecution for fraud after state amends the charge sheet

Safa president Danny Jordaan and his co-accused Gronie Hluyo and Trevor Neethling appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Palm Ridge in Johannesburg on Friday.

The three men were originally charged with fraud and theft after being accused of misusing R1.3 million of Safa’s funds for their personal benefit.

During Friday’s hearing Advocate Norman Arendse revealed that the prosecution had provided an amended charge sheet which withdrew charges five to seven involving the accusation of the theft of nearly R900,000.

In March 2024 the Hawks raided Safa's offices in search of evidence against the veteran administrator. 

It was alleged that between 2014 and 2018, Jordaan used the federation's resources for personal gain.

This included hiring a private security company to protect him, as well as a public relations company - all without the approval of the board.

And now, with the theft charges withdrawn, his lawyer has raised the possibility of approaching the Johannesburg Director of Public Prosecutions to have the remaining charges withdrawn.

The charges have led to consternation at Safa with NEC member Bhudha Mathathe recently saying Jordaan was no longer fit to lead the organisation due to the ongoing court case and that Premier Soccer League chairman Irvin Khoza should replace him in an interim capacity.

“He’s on bail facing serious charges, so he should not be at the NEC, let alone chair it," Mathathe told Sowetan Live.

“We don’t want him there because he would be violating his bail conditions, which say he should not interfere with witnesses. We know that Dr Irvin Khoza is one of the witnesses. There are NEC members who may be witnesses too. It’s nothing personal – he has to follow the law.

“He [Khoza] won’t have to be there on a full-time basis. He would provide guidance. We are in a difficult financial position where we are failing to pay salaries and national teams. Dr Khoza has the expertise to get us out of these problems.”

It appears there will now be a lengthy delay to proceedings as Jordaan and his co-accused petition to have the remaining charges dismissed.

Advocate Norman Arendse revealed that the defence had filed a review application against the December dismissal of their applications to have the whole case struck off the court roll.

Until such time as the charges are dismissed, or prosecuted in court, the accused are currently out on R20 000 bail each.