A showdown is looming between Nomgcobo Jiba and Parliament after the latter insisted it would push through with its process to remove her from office in line with the Mokgoro report.
Jiba’s lawyers have urged Speaker Thandi Modise to stop the parliamentary process until the review application by Jiba is concluded in the High Court.
Jiba has asked the court to set aside the Mokgoro report after President Cyril Ramaphosa used it in April to fire her and special director Lawrence Mrwebi.
But chairperson of the parliamentary portfolio committee
on justice and correctional services Bulelani Magwanishe said they would continue with the process on Tuesday unless there was a court decision to stop them.
In line with the law, Ramaphosa has to refer the decision to axe the deputy director of the National Prosecuting Authority, Jiba, and Mrwebi to Parliament for approval.
Magwanishe said they will continue with their work on Tuesday unless there was a court decision to stop them.
Magwanishe said the law states that once the president has sent his report to Parliament, Parliament has 30 days to respond.
Magwanishe said they did not want to be in violation of the law.
He said there must be something stopping them that would halt the process.
He said in terms of their draft programme, they must finish the process by August 27 and report to the House by September 3.
The justice committee had given Mrwebi and Jiba 10 working days to make submissions as to why they should not be removed from their positions.
The committee had refused
a proposal that the two must
make oral submissions, saying the written submissions would be sufficient.
Members of the committee had insisted that they were not re-opening the inquiry - what
they were seeking to do was to ensure they looked at all the documents that were available to them.
They said the inquiry had heard evidence from all sides and therefore there was no need for Parliament to start that process all over again.
Jiba’s lawyer wrote to Modise requesting that Parliament stop the process.
Modise then referred the matter to the justice committee, which said it would proceed with its work.
The NPA has said it would not fill the positions occupied by Jiba and Mrwebi until all processes had been finalised.
In the annual report submitted to the National Legislature, the NPA said it had increased its conviction rate in various categories of crime including commercial and organised crime.