Hawks in the dark about Breytenbach arrest

Former NPA prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach. File photo: Phill Magakoe

Former NPA prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach. File photo: Phill Magakoe

Published Feb 21, 2014

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Johannesburg - A news report that former NPA prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach is facing arrest could not be confirmed on Friday.

“I don't know,” said Hawks spokesman Paul Ramaloko.

“The Hawks deal with serious matters, we don't deal with defeating the ends of justice.”

The New Age reported earlier in the day that Breytenbach would be arrested in the next few weeks for defeating the ends of justice and corruption.

Gauteng police spokeswoman Capt Doniah Mothutsane referred enquiries to the Hawks.

“We are not dealing with that. It's the Hawks, speak to Ramaloko,” she said.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube was also in the dark.

“I don't know. We can't comment on that because we don't arrest people, we prosecute.

“If it's happening, we have nothing to do with it.”

Breytenbach's lawyer, Gerhard Wagenaar, denied any knowledge of a pending arrest.

“I don't know anything about what they (the newspaper) are saying. I can't comment because I don't know about this”.

In April 2012, Breytenbach was suspended from the NPA and later faced a lengthy disciplinary hearing on 15 charges.

These included failing to act impartially while investigating the Kumba-Iron Ore-Sishen and Imperial Crown Trading mining rights issue. She was accused of “improper relations” with Sishen's lawyer, Mike Hellens.

Breytenbach has claimed that her suspension from the NPA was related to her opposition to a decision to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against former police crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli.

On May 27, an NPA disciplinary hearing found her not guilty on all the charges. Breytenbach was allowed to return to work, but on her return she found the NPA intended sending her to a different office.

In the Labour Court, Breytenbach unsuccessfully applied to have her transfer overturned.

In January, her legal team filed a record on appeal in the Labour Appeal Court over her internal transfer.

She formally resigned from the NPA in January and was named on the opposition Democratic Alliance's Gauteng list for the National Assembly.

Earlier this month, the Sunday Independent reported that National Director of Public Prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana had received a draft report outlining allegations of corruption and fraud against Breytenbach.

Allegedly penned by the NPA's integrity management unit, Breytenbach is accused in the report of soliciting a loan of $1

million (about R11m) from businessman Nathan Kirsh, the complainant in two linked cases she was prosecuting.

She was accused of accepting a R6.3m donation, also from Kirsh via the FW de Klerk Foundation, towards her legal fees in a labour dispute with the NPA.

According to the newspaper, the report found that the money accepted from Kirsh could be viewed as a kickback.

She is also accused of failing to declare her personal relationships with Kirsh and advocate Andre Bezuidenhout over about a decade.

On February 6, Mncube said both the NPA and Breytenbach had withdrawn all labour issues before the court, and both parties had come to an amicable settlement regarding her resignation at a meeting.

It was not discussed whether Nxasana would pursue fraud and corruption charges against her because he had “not yet applied his mind”, said Mncube at the time.

“That was not disclosed in the meeting. It is an internal matter... It is a matter between employer and employee.”

Mncube could not be reached for further comment on Friday. - Sapa

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