The charges related to Jiba's decision to prosecute Johan Booysen, the former head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, on racketeering charges. (Gallo)
Contradictions have now emerged in the scandal surrounding the deputy director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba, with the police saying they were not looking for her, nor that they have issued a summons for her to appear in court – a claim which the National Prosecuting Authority is standing by.
Solomon Makgale, who speaks on behalf of police commissioner Riah Phiyega, issued a statement on Wednesday, contradicting a statement by the NPA that the police were on the hunt for Jiba. He further denied that the police issued a summons for her to appear in court.
“It is our view that the NPA, who are also complainants in the matter, jumped the gun when they issued a summons against Advocate Jiba,” Makgale said. But the NPA has countered this saying they can prove that “senior colonels” came to the NPA headquarters looking for Jiba on Tuesday.
“They went to her house and they could not find her. So they came to her place of work and they issued the summons,” said NPA spokesperson Velekhaya Mgobhozi.
The NPA first said on Tuesday that according to the summons, Jiba will have to appear in the Pretoria Regional Court on April 21. The charges against her are in relation to her involvement in the case against KwaZulu Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen.
Murder and racketeering
In February last year, Durban High Court Judge Trevor Gorven found that Jiba’s decision to prosecute Booysen was unconstitutional and invalid. Jiba, who was then acting national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), charged Booysen with murder and racketeering in relation to the Cato Manor Organised Crime Unit, which was accused of being a death hit squad.
Makgale said the SAPS was not done with its investigations in the case and was not ready for the matter to go to court.
“It is worth mentioning that the issuing of the summons was not done in consultation with the SAPS’s investigating officer who works at the office of Lieutenant General Vinesh Moonoo, the Divisional Commissioner of the Detective Service. The investigating officer would usually consult with a prosecutor before such a decision can be taken,” Makgale said.
But the NPA through Mgobhozi insisted that the matter was a “prosecutor-driven investigation”. “We don’t need General Moonoo’s go ahead. I want to place this on record,” he said.