THE fight between the former head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal, Johan Booysen, and the suspended deputy national director of public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, is far from over.
Booysen is expected to take on Jiba for her conduct at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) when he testifies at the Mokgoro Commission, headed by retired Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, on Friday.
Jiba and Booysen have been at war since 2012 when he was arrested on allegations of heading the “Cato Manor death squad”.
The commission, instituted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is investigating Jiba and her colleague advocate Lawrence Mrwebi’s fitness to hold office.
Jiba will have to answer for her conduct in the prosecution of Booysen, who successfully took the prosecution on review, accusing her of lying under oath.
Adding to Jiba’s woes are Constitutional Court documents which show the General Council of the Bar (GCB) wants Jiba and Mrwebi disbarred.
“We submit that the findings of dishonesty are well-founded, and provide an ample basis justifying and requiring the removal of Jiba and Mrwebi from the roll,” read the heads of argument filed on behalf of the GCB.
The Bar further states that Jiba and Mrwebi were wrong to abandon the prosecution of national crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli.
Booysen is expected to set the record straight this week when he appears before the Mokgoro Commission. However, he said the date for his testimony to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, was yet to be confirmed.
Booysen, who took early retirement in 2017, would however not be drawn into commenting about the contents of his testimony.
“I don’t want to pre-empt my evidence at the two commissions of inquiry as it might compromise the proceedings.
“If Agrizzi’s allegations about Jiba are found to be true, it would be shocking. It will then show that Jiba has undermined the NPA and established a parallel prosecuting authority comprising a number of advocates at the NPA at the expense of the rule of law,” said Booysen.
He was referring to the testimony of former chief operations officer of Bosasa, Angelo Agrizzi, who told the Zondo Commission that it gave Jiba a monthly bribe of R100000.
While Booysen was tight-lipped about his evidence, a source close to him said he would deliver “explosive” testimony at both commissions.
Central to his testimony would be his “unfair” prosecution by the NPA, allegedly at the behest of Jiba, which was based on lies, added a source. Additional reporting by Loyiso
Sidimba