Koko case still alive and will be re-enrolled – Hawks boss

Head of the Hawks Godfrey Lebeya said they have full confidence in the work of the National Prosecuting Authority, and it will re-enrol the case against Matshela Koko. l JACQUES NAUDE/INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Head of the Hawks Godfrey Lebeya said they have full confidence in the work of the National Prosecuting Authority, and it will re-enrol the case against Matshela Koko. l JACQUES NAUDE/INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Published Nov 23, 2023

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Head of the Hawks Godfrey Lebeya has repeated suggestions by the National Prosecuting Authority that the case against former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko will be re-enrolled in court.

Lebeya said that the case was not dead in the water after it was struck off the roll. This would allow the NPA to fix some of the outstanding issues.

Head of the Investigating Directorate, Andrea Johnson, told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that they would meet on Thursday to discuss the case.

Johnson said they had experienced delays in getting the services of a digital forensic expert and an auditor.

But that was not the end of the road for the NPA, as they would get the case back on the court roll after finalising the issues of the specialists.

Lebeya, who was briefing the media yesterday (Thursday), said the case would be back on the court roll.

He said it was just struck off the roll, but that this did not mean the NPA could not bring it back to court.

Lebeya said Johnson had explained this to Scopa on Wednesday.

He said the case against would be revived by the NPA.

“It is not a dead matter. The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has got authority to issue a directive to reinstate the matter. That is what the presiding officer will expect that when they resuscitate the matter that they would like to see that letter from the NDPP. That matter will still receive attention,” said Lebeya.

He said the Hawks continued to work together with the NPA on corruption and state capture cases.

The task for law enforcement agencies was to prove these cases beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, had also told Scopa they wanted government officials and executives in state-owned entities (SOEs) to co-operate with the NPA in these investigations.

In some cases, it is alleged that some officials in SOEs are refusing to hand over documents required to prove cases in court and this forces them to go to court to obtain search and seizure orders against departments and SOEs.