Jiba must explain herself, say Breytenbach lawyers
LAWYERS for former commercial crimes prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach have their sights firmly set on hauling disgraced Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba into court.
They want to force her to answer questions on why she suspended Breytenbach and whether the suspension was to protect controversial crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Breytenbach‚ now a DA MP‚ says she believes she was suspended in 2012 over her insistence that Mdluli be prosecuted for fraud and corruption.
Breytenbach is on trial‚ along with her former lawyer‚ Gerhard Wagenaar‚ in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on charges of defeating the ends of justice and contravening the National Prosecuting Act.
The two have been accused of deleting documents from Breytenbach’s work laptop in 2012 while she was employed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Breytenbach also faces charges for alleged improper conduct while prosecuting a mining rights case.
She was subjected to an internal disciplinary hearing, but found not guilty of the 15 charges brought against her.
Breytenbach was also under investigation by the Hawks for allegedly obstructing and defeating the ends of justice.
Last year, the Pretoria High Court ordered that Jiba‚ along with her colleague‚ Lawrence Mrwebi‚ be struck from the roll of advocates.
They were sanctioned for the way they handled the fraud and corruption case against Mdluli.
Prosecutor Raymond Mathenjwa argued for hours yesterday that it would not be in the interest of justice for Jiba to appear in court.
“They are inferences without proof. Why do they want her [Jiba] on the stand?” Mathenjwa said.
“All she will say is what has already been said by witnesses.”
He said the defence had raised issues with Jiba’s authority to sign Breytenbach’s suspension letter and the time it took to actually suspend her.
“Yes, it was weeks later‚ but that is a decision management is entitled to take.
“The timeframe has nothing to do with this case.”
Mathenjwa said to have Jiba on the stand would create the wrong perception because Jiba had been authorised to make the decision.
But Breytenbach’s advocate‚ Barry Roux‚ argued that there was more to the letter than met the eye.
“The justice minister has the executive power to delegate managers within the NPA to do things,” Roux said.
“In this case, who did he delegate? There is no evidence it was Jiba.”