President Thabo Mbeki has appointed former National Assembly speaker Frene Ginwala to conduct the enquiry into whether National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli is fit to hold office, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said on Saturday.
GCIS spokesperson Themba Maseko said the former National Assembly speaker had been appointed in terms of section 12(6) of the National Prosecuting Act 32 of 1998.
”It’s [the enquiry] going to be under way soon. I need to meet with the Doctor [Ginwala] first and will avail more details on Monday,” he said.
Maseko said he would address a press conference on Monday outlining the details and format of the enquiry.
Selebi investigation
The Mail & Guardian reported on Friday that Pikoli’s failure to give his political superiors full details of the investigation into police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi — and possibly of Selebi’s planned arrest — led to his suspension, according to a range of official sources.
The M&G first revealed Selebi’s links to organised crime figures, and the Scorpions’ investigation into these links, in May last year. The Scorpions is a division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which Pikoli heads.
This raises the question of whether Mbeki has decided to shut down the Selebi investigation, or whether it will proceed, perhaps in a different form.
Mbeki suspended Pikoli on September 23. A government statement gave the reason as ”an irretrievable breakdown in the working relationship” between the NPA chief and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Brigitte Mabandla.
It is generally accepted that their relationship had been strained for some time.
Pikoli did not take Mabandla into his confidence over details of Scorpions investigations which she felt she should know about.