Pretoria - No damning evidence was led against suspended senior NPA advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi during their first day of the hearing into their fitness to hold office in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
However, Jiba’s legal counsel Advocate Thabani Masuku was quick to dispel newspaper reports over the weekend that his client was also a beneficiary of gifts and finances from Bosasa.
Masuku has asked the commission into the fitness of Jiba and Mrwebi led by retired Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro not to consider any of those reports in the proceedings.
Weekend newspapers had alleged that Jiba and Mrwebi were also beneficiary like various other high ranking ANC politicians in the country.
But the claims made against the two, it was alleged that bribes were paid to them to prevent criminal investigations against Bosasa senior officials.
Jiba denied the allegations. Evidence leader Nazreen Bawa confirmed that the commission was at the moment only dealing with allegations which emanated from negative court judgments against Jiba and Mrwebi.
However, Monday's proceedings focused only the work requirements of a National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and the deputy.
On Monday, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Silas Ramaite outlined the respective roles of his office, the deputy director of public prosecutions as well as the roles of the different Directors of Public Prosecutions in the nine provinces including Gauteng.
Ramaite in his testimony said NDPPs were barred from interfering in the affairs and decisions of the directors of public prosecution in all matters.
He also said DPP were only allowed to prosecute matters in their areas of jurisdictions - a submission which would later become a contentious matter against Jiba and Mrwebi.
One of the allegations against them was that they allowed a Gauteng DPP Andrew Chauke to prosecute former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen for alleged crimes which were committed outside Gauteng’s jurisdiction.
The hearings continue.
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