New venue for Zondo inquiry
Commission heads to Johannesburg municipal buildings
The commission of inquiry into state capture is relocating from Hill on Empire in Parktown‚ Johannesburg‚ to a new venue.
It will be sitting at the old Joburg municipal council chambers from the second week of next month. The change of venue was announced by commission chairperson deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo yesterday.
“The venue for hearings will no longer take place in this venue beyond the end of February‚” said Zondo.
“Arrangements are being finalised. An agreement has been reached that the commission for the rest of the year will sit in the old chamber at the Johannesburg municipality.”
The commission yesterday heard evidence from former acting director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal Simphiwe Mlotshwa.
Mlotshwa testified how his stint in the position between 2010 and 2012 had been “unbearable” owing to two big cases that were marred by interference – the so-called Amigos case and the Cator Manor hit squad case.
The Amigos case pertained to the controversial awarding of a R144m contract by the provincial departments of health and local government.
Among those charged with racketeering‚ corruption and fraud in the matter were the then MECs in the two departments‚ Peggy Nkonyeni and Mike Mabuyakhulu.
The commission also heard that in March 2012 advocate Lawrence Mrwebi had unilaterally wanted to withdraw charges against Mabuyakhulu‚ a decision Mlotshwa was not consulted about as the then acting DPP [director of public prosecutions].
The charges against Mabuyakhulu were eventually dropped in August the same year‚ a month after Mlotshwa had resigned as DPP.
In the Cator Manor case‚ Mlotshwa told the commission how then acting national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba had tried to force him to sign an indictment without having full particulars about the case.
Mlotshwa refused to sign and did not do so until he left the position. The commission will not sit next week. It resumes on March 11.