LIVE FEED: State capture inquiry - March 11, 2020

Prasa House in Hatfield, Pretoria. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Prasa House in Hatfield, Pretoria. Picture: Thobile Mathonsi/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Published Mar 11, 2020

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Johannesburg - The state capture inquiry resumes on Wednesday morning and will hear evidence related to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). 

The commission will hear evidence from Autopax CEO Tiro Holele and the general manager at Prasa Jacob Rakgoathe. 

The commission had been on a break for just over a week to prepare for its new venue at the old Joburg Council Chambers in Braamfontein. 

On February 27, the commission concluded hearing evidence from former acting head of the national prosecuting authority in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa. 

He detailed the pressure he faced to sign an indictment that lacked critical details about criminal charges related to the Cato Manor death squad saga. 

Advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa took the stand at the Zondo commission on Thursday. He acted as the NPA's head of prosecutions in KZN from 2010 until July 2012. 

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Mlotshwa had testified last year at the inquiry held to determine former NPA bosses, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi, fitness to hold office. The two were later removed from the powerful positions at the NPA by President Cyril Ramaphosa following recommendations from the Mokgoro inquiry. 

The basis of Mlotshwa's evidence focused on the pressure he faced to sign an indictment related to the Cato Manor death squad. 

The "Cato Manor" matter involved the charges that were brought against over 20 police officers that worked for the organised crime intelligence unit dubbed the "Cato Manor" squad. The officers were accused of killing civilians and staging cause of their deaths. Former Hawks KZN boss Johan Booysen was also charged along with the men.

These charges and indictment of the men happened after Mlotshwa had left office, but it was when he was still the acting head of the NPA in KZN where the pressure for the case to be brought to court began.

Mlotshwa told the commission about a call from Jiba in 2012 where she requested that he sign an indictment on an urgent matter that had to be brought to court. Later on when Jiba and Mlotshwa and an advocate Andrew Chauke, who headed up prosecution in Gauteng, met and Mlotshwa was told that he had to sign the indictment but he was given very little detail about the charges. 

Mlotshwa said initially he agreed that he would sign the indictment, but he had to be provided with the prosecutor's memorandum which provided details on the case before he would sign the indictment. 

When the indictment was later forwarded to him, it did not include the prosecutor's memorandum and so he refused to sign the indictment and informed Chauke. He said he was never given privy to the memorandum containing the charges in the Cato Manor case and he never signed the indictment. 

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