Jiba could return to NPA

‘SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN STRUCK OFF ROLL’

NEARLY two years after her name was struck from the roll of advocates, Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (DNDPP) Nomgcobo Jiba may find herself back at her job.

This, after the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein ruled yesterday that Jiba and Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit head Lawrence Mrwebi should not have been struck off the roll of advocates.

Jiba and Mrwebi took their matter to the appeal court after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in September 2016, found in a scathing judgment that, through their conduct, they had brought the legal profession into disrepute.

Jiba and Mrwebi have been on special leave for two years.

While the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could not be reached for comment yesterday, it is understood that Jiba will now approach NPA boss Shaun Abrahams about the way forward, as it is believed she wants to return to office.

It is unclear what Mrwebi’s position is.

In the majority judgment yesterday, SCA Acting Deputy President Jerry Shongwe said, regarding Jiba: “Perhaps one may infer some form of incompetence with regard to her duties, which may be a ground to remove her from being the DNDPP, but it is not sufficient enough to be removed from the roll of advocates.”

He said the General Council of the Bar (GCB), which launched the proceedings to have Jiba and Mrwebi removed from the roll, failed to establish any misconduct against her.

Regarding Mrwebi, the SCA said it was prepared to find that the GCB succeeded in establishing some wrongdoing on his part, but because there was no personal gain from Mrwebi’s conduct, the sanction handed down to him was not justified.

The SCA found that a more suitable sanction was to suspend Mrwebi as an advocate for six months, but this was backdated to September 2016, when the original high court judgment was delivered.

Jiba and Mrwebi, in turning to the SCA, said they at all times acted in good faith and were merely exercising their duties under the auspices of the NPA Act when they took several highprofile decisions.

These included the decision to drop fraud and corruption charges against suspended crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli.

In the high court judgment, Judge Francis Legodi, who together with Judge Hughes ordered that the pair be struck from the roll of advocates in 2016, severely criticised them for not prosecuting Mdluli.

He commented that he could not believe that two officers of the court, who held top positions in the NPA, would “stoop so low” to protect one individual (Mdluli).

Jiba and Mrwebi felt that they were dealt with in an unreasonably harsh manner and that there were other options available, including suspending them.

In her application before the SCA, Jiba said that the fraud and corruption charges against Mdluli – the main reason for her being struck from the roll – were withdrawn for purposes of further investigation, and that the intention was to reinstate these charges if further incriminating evidence came to light.

Judge Shongwe said in his judgment that because the GCB failed to establish any misconduct against Jiba, there was no need for him to deal with a value judgment to determine whether Jiba was a fit and proper person to remain on the roll of advocates.

Freedom Under Law (FUL), meanwhile, indicated that it would no longer pursue its urgent application asking for contempt of court orders against Jiba and Abrahams.

FUL earlier said it was heading to court as Jiba on several occasions visited the NPA offices, in spite of a court order that, pending the finalisation of her appeal, barred her from entering these offices. It was said that Abrahams was aware of these visits, which he tried to justify.

FUL’s Nicole Fritz yesterday said while they were no longer heading to court, they were considering their position regarding the contempt application, as they still felt Jiba and Abrahams had acted in violation of a court order.