Former deputy social development minister David Malatsi appeared briefly in the Ekangala Magistrate's Court, Mpumalanga on Tuesday on charges of theft and possession of a suspected stolen car.

Malatsi (49) was released on R5000 bail and the case was postponed to August to allow for further investigation, police spokeswoman Constable Sally Skhosana said.

Malatsi was arrested on Monday morning at his home in Section C of Ekangala township. He was allegedly caught driving a new grey Ford Bantam bakkie that went missing from a motor dealership in Centurion, outside Pretoria.

"The security guard arrived at work at 10am yesterday [Monday] and found the bakkie missing. A case of car theft was immediately opened at the Centurion police station."

Skhosana said the vehicle was found in Ekangala with the help of a tracker system.

Malatsi resigned from the government in 2003 after the former leader of the now-defunct New National Party, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, implicated him and former Western Cape premier Peter Marais in corruption.

The scandal surrounded the granting of an application for the development of the multi-million rand Roodefontein golf estate near Plettenberg Bay while Malatsi was Western Cape MEC for environmental affairs and development planning.

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