Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance on Friday welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that he had fired embattled National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) senior prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi following adverse findings against the two by an inquiry.
"The two were instrumental in the capture of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The decline of the institution in the last ten years was in no small measure thanks to their efforts," said DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach, a former NPA senior prosecutor, in a statement.
Breytenbach said Ramaphosa was "pushed" before he axed Jiba and Mrwebi, who were allegedly codenamed "Snake" and Snail" by Bosasa executives, who the state capture commission of inquiry heard made monthly payments to in order to stifle prosecution into the company and its dodgy dealings with the State.
"When it comes to 'Snake' and 'Snail', Ramaphosa was pushed. They should have been fired long ago."
An inquiry chaired by retired Justice Yvonne Mokgoro heard damning evidence against the suspended state lawyers in February. Earlier this month, having received the final report, Ramaphosa sent it to Jiba and Mrwebi, asking them to respond to the findings in the form of representations.
Ramaphosa announced their sacking on Friday, saying the Mokgoro inquiry had found that they were not fit to hold office and following representations by the two on the findings, the president informed them "their tenure has ended with immediate effect".