Shawn Mpisane is accused of interfering with a state witness and of inflating the invoices of her business Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport. (Gallo)
The lead prosecutor in two of the three cases against Durban businessperson Shawn Mpisane faces suspension from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a spokeswoman said on Sunday.
NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson said Meera Naidu was issued with a notice of intention to suspend her, and that she had been given an opportunity to explain why she should not be suspended.
Ramkisson said a decision still had to be taken on whether to suspend her. She said Naidu had been accused of "impropriety".
Naidu was the lead prosecutor in a case in the Pinetown Regional Court in which Mpisane is accused of interfering with a state witness. Naidu has been removed from this case.
Ramkisson said she had no knowledge of whether Naidu would also be pulled from the case Mpisane faces in the Durban Regional Court, where she is accused of inflating the invoices of her business Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport by R4.7-million to try and cut her tax bill.
Tax fraud case
That case resumes on Monday. It was postponed on July 22 allow the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions time to respond to representations made by Mpisane's legal team about the prosecution's conduct.
On July 22, Mpisane's counsel Rafik Bhana told the court the postponement was also needed because lawyers from the South African Revenue Service had said they wanted to respond to accusations made in a representation by Mpisane.
The Sunday Tribune reported that Mpisane's attorney Phila Magwaza had said he had received notice of Naidu's removal from the tax fraud case and that a prosecutor from Pretoria would take over.
Ramkisson told the South African Press Association she was not aware of this. – Sapa