Jiba seeks to turn tables on Hofmeyr’s ‘credibility’

Mokgoro grants permission for grilling

SUSPENDED national director of public prosecutions, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, looks set to turn the tables on Willie Hofmeyr, saying he had a role to play in blocking the reinstatement of fraud and corruption charges against former president Jacob Zuma.

Jiba’s bid came after Hofmeyr made damning allegations against her before the Mokgoro inquiry, accusing her of having brought the integrity of the NPA into disrepute following her appointment as acting head in December 2011.

Yesterday, Jiba asked the inquiry, led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, to allow her the same opportunity to expose Hofmeyr’s controversial role in his and former NDPP head Mokotedi Mpshe’s attempt to block charges against Zuma.

She said it would enable the panel to make a finding on the credibility of Hofmeyr’s testimony.

The inquiry is probing her fitness along with special director of commercial crime unit (SCCU) head advocate Lawrence Mrwebi to hold office in the NPA.

In his evidence, Hofmeyr told the inquiry that the NPA had, after the appointment of Jiba as acting head, experienced the abuse of prosecutorial powers to advance political agendas. He said that had been one of the issues that had impacted most severely on the perceptions of, and public confidence in, the NPA.

“The NPA should never have been seen as an extension of any political party or to give effect to its agenda.”

Hofmeyr said: “Even more dangerously, in a number of prosecutions, the NPA has essentially been perceived to be acting on behalf of a faction of the ruling party, such as the prosecutions of those who were opposed to the majority grouping in the ruling party at the time. An example is the prosecution of (Pravin) Gordhan.”

Jiba’s legal counsel, advocate Norman Arendse, argued that Hofmeyr had made similar disparaging remarks against former NDPP head Bulelani Ngcuka in March 2015.

Arendse said his client was not the first NPA head whom the courts had made adverse judicial reviews against.

Justice Mokgoro granted Jiba permission to grill Hofmeyr.

Hofmeyr, through his counsel, advocate Annade Theart, tried to block the request arguing that the scope of the inquiry was mainly to focus on the fitness of Jiba and Mrwebi to hold office in the NPA. Hofmeyr was adamant that, if the inquiry granted such a request, it would extend the scope of its mandate which was given to it by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October last year.

The case in dispute involved an eight-year battle by the DA in which it asked the SCA to overturn then NDPP advocate Mokotedi Mpshe’s decision to withdraw charges of fraud and corruption against Zuma in April 2008.

While Mpshe made the decision to withdraw the charges, Hofmeyr deposed an affidavit in which he accused former president Thabo Mbeki of having used the NPA as a political tool against Zuma.

Hofmeyr based his affidavit on an intercepted conversation between the former head of NDPP Bulelani Ngcuka and Leonard McCarthy, the director of Special Operations then known as the Scorpions.

Hofmeyr said Mpshe was shocked after listening to the “intercepted” conversation – later dubbed the “Spy tapes”.

The SCA judges also found that Mpshe had invoked the wrong law, Section 179 (5), to drop the charges.