Gruelling test for Jiba’s fitness
Suspended deputy NPA boss pressed to say why she meddled and did not follow processes
SUSPENDED deputy NPA boss Nomgcobo Jiba’s fitness to hold office has yet again been put to the test.
Yesterday Jiba found herself painstakingly explaining why she had meddled in certain high-profile cases and why she had been intent on carrying out certain prosecutions despite due processes not having been followed.
During her cross-examination of Jiba, advocate Nazreen Bawa took Jiba to task over her decision to prosecute the former head of the KZN Hawks, General Johan Booysen.
During her tenure as acting NDPP, it is alleged that Jiba sought to prosecute Booysen for racketeering despite not having substantive evidence.
Charges brought against Booysen at the time related to him allegedly running a criminal ring which included members of the former Cato Manor Organised Crime Squad which he headed at the time.
The unit was accused of carrying out hits and wreaking havoc in the KZN region.
However, recent news reports maintained that the unit allegedly never existed.
In response, Jiba told the Mokgoro commission of inquiry that all aspects of the case, including the contents of the docket containing charges against Booysen, had to be considered.
She said that her view at the time was that “he (Booysen) has been aware of the issues relating to the operations and the manner of operations that were conducted by the people under his control”.
Jiba said the NPA’s work on the Booysen matter was premised on the fact that the Ipid had raised concerns about the case and the fact that there were suspicions about the manner in which the Cato Manor Unit was held in high regard in KZN.
“In fact, that got confirmed because at some point there was an article where a judge had commended the work of the unit.
“It (the NPA’s case) was founded on those issues and I never wanted to cast aspersions on my prosecutors in KZN,” she said.
Previously, former acting deputy director of prosecutions in KZN advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa revealed that he had been placed under immense pressure by Jiba to conduct prosecutions on the Cato Manor Squad.
Mlotshwa said he had raised questions about the validity of the docket and lack of sufficient evidence but was highly pressurised by his superiors in the national office to conduct the prosecutions.
It also emerged that Jiba had later sent a team of prosecutors to KZN.
“Yes, he (Mlotshwa) never asked for prosecutors to go to KZN.
“It was a decision that I made. It is not a decision that he objected to,” Jiba said.
During this time, Mlotshwa said he had been axed as acting KZN head and replaced with advocate Moipone Noko – an appointment he maintains to have learnt about through the media.
Jiba also informed the Inquiry that before her appointment as acting NDPP in December 2011, she had never assumed the position of acting head of the SIU, contrary to media reports.
“…I recall there was such but I never assumed the position. It never really took place. I had learnt from the media that there was such an appointment.”
Asked about political interference in the NPA’s prosecutorial decisions and whether the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development can interfere in any decision taken by the NDPP, Jiba replied: “Never.”
She pointed out that it was the NDPP’s prerogative to prosecute.
“The minister enjoys oversight responsibilities which include briefing for instance.
“The minister must know what happens in the organisation,” she said and added the NDDP’s office usually conducts a report in accordance with the NPA Act and informs the minister about their decision to prosecute a certain individual.
Jiba also mentioned that the NPA battled with confidential information being made public.
“We are troubled by media leaks in the institution. That’s a fact,” she said.
In relation to labour matters concerning some of the country’s top prosecutors who left the NPA, such as Glynnis Breytenbach, Jiba said some of the concerns that were raised had been attended to but she was not alone in taking unilateral decisions at the institution.
In January, Breytenbach said Jiba had left the NPA in a shambles and lacked the skills or experience to hold that office.
One of the key issues Jiba raised at the inquiry was that the NPA needed to communicate its practices a lot better in order to become efficient.
The inquiry resumes tomorrow.