National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Menzi Simelane has suspended the Asset Forfeiture Unit’s (AFU) KwaZulu-Natal head Knorx Molelle, reported the Sunday Times.
His suspension followed accusations from within the NPA that Simelane was gunning for allies of AFU and Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyr allies like Molelle, the newspaper wrote.
Molelle has seized hundreds of millions of rands of ill-gotten gains in high-profile cases involving politicians.
Last week, Simelane said that even though Molelle had been stripped of his powers and removed from the R200-million Intaka corruption case, he was not under investigation.
Two NPA sources told the Sunday Times that Molelle had been given until Monday to respond to charges relating to his request for armed protection during a trip to Kimberly last year.
Racism
The newspaper reported that internal documents showed that Molelle requested extra security because he feared for the safety of his team.
The NPA’s gave in to his request only after being pressured by Hofmeyr, who approved the booking out of two Glock pistols, a rifle fitted with optic sights and a torch, and 160 rounds of ammunition.
Meanwhile, the City Press reported that Hofmeyr had fired the unit’s head of business support Mizeria Nyathi, despite a court ordering her reinstatement.
According to the newspaper, Nyathi’s lawyer Graham Moshoana said his client was informed of the decision to fire her on Wednesday.
Hofmeyr initially suspended Nyathi in April after the leaking of a document in which a call was made for him to resign and which detailed his alleged failure to deal with racism at the SIU.
Urgent interdict
Nyathi was apparently dismissed for refusing to submit to a lie detector test.
“They told her she was in material breach of contract,” Moshoana was quoted as saying.
Nyathi is the third senior official to be fired from the unit.
Last week, the Labout Court ordered Hofmeyr to allow Nyathi to return to work. She had brought an urgent interdict on July 14.
The battle between Nyathi and Hofmeyr started in February after an internal investigation found that the document was allegedly typed on a computer belonging to Nyathi’s daughter.
No comment
A day after her suspension, Nyathi was reportedly instructed to undergo a polygraph test to verify if the allegations were true. She declined.
NPA spoksperson Mthinzi Mhaga said on Sunday that he would comment on both reports after contacting the relevant people. — Sapa