Johannesburg – National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Shamila Batohi is flexing her muscles at the troubled institution with new revelations on how she has decided to tackle NPA South Gauteng boss Andrew Chauke for his alleged “failure” to prosecute prominent South Africans facing various serious criminal and political charges.
Sunday World can reveal that Batohi two months ago wrote a letter to Chauke and gave him until the end of May to explain why he failed to prosecute matters involving former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and former Gauteng health MEC Brian Hlongwa.
The letter, seen by Sunday World, comes after Batohi also suspended Chauke’s wife from the NPA following allegations of nepotism, among others.
Batohi demanded to know why Chauke’s office declined to prosecute Duduzane for culpable homicide after he slammed into a taxi with his Porsche in a crash that killed a woman and injured three others on the Grayston off-ramp in Sandton in 2014.
Chauke’s office referred the matter for a formal inquest instead of charging Duduzane with culpable homicide.
“The magistrate found that the death was prima facie caused by the negligence of Mr Zuma. You declined to prosecute which decision was overturned by the then NDPP Advocate Abrahams after receiving media queries and a request for a nolle prosequi certificate from the family of the deceased,” reads the letter.
Batohi also said although she had perused the representation file at the NDPP, she wanted Chauke to send her a copy of his office file in which the records of the original decision not to prosecute Duduzane was recorded.
She said although she was in possession of Chauke’s report on Abrahams, it did not deal with the original decision not to prosecute Duduzane.
In his response, Chauke said after studying the case docket, he was satisfied that there were no reasonable prospects of successful prosecution in the matter and accordingly endorsed the decision taken by his subordinate not to prosecute Duduzane.
He also said after Abrahams and then acting head of National Prosecutions Services Sbongile Mzinyathi reviewed the decision and decided that Duduzane be tried for culpable homicide, Zuma’s son was subsequently acquitted by the court.
Batohi is also questioning Chauke’s decision not to charge Mdluli, an alleged Zuma ally, with murder.
“From a reading of the documentation contained in the file, I understand that Mdluli was arrested in the beginning of 2011 where after a decision was made to indict him and three others in the high court for several charges including murder, attempted murder, intimidation and kidnapping. The trial would have commenced in April 2012 but following a representation you decided to withdraw the charges and a formal inquest was held. The failure of the NPA to prosecute Mdluli was successfully challenged by Freedom Under Law,” according to Batohi.
Batohi also asked Chauke to explain why the prosecution of Hlongwa had been delayed.
“As the DPP for the area you are responsible for ensuring speedy justice,” reads the letter. A report by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has revealed details of alleged corrupt and fraudulent dealings worth R1.2-billion in the Gauteng health department during Hlongwa’s tenure. Chauke told Batohi that a racketeering case against Hlongwa was close to finalisation.
Chauke was among candidates interviewed in 2018 by the panel set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to shortlist suitable persons for the top NPA job, which went to Batohi.
It was at this interview that the panel grilled Chauke on his 2014 decision to withdraw murder and kidnapping charges against Mdluli in connection with the Oupa Ramogibe matter.
A high court judgment was read to Chauke, which found that he and his colleagues were obstructive and were not acting without fear or favour in the Mdluli matter.
Mdluli and his co-accused Mthombeni Mthunzi were found guilty in 2019 for the 1998 kidnapping, assault and intimidation of Ramogibe, who had married Mduli’s customary law wife Tshidi Buthelezi.
Chauke in his defence said after studying the Mdluli case dockets and the report of the prosecution team, he was satisfied with evidence regarding all the charges except for the murder and attempted murder.
He said his decision was found to be rational by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
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Batohi is also demanding an explanation from Chauke for his decision to prosecute former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen for racketeering and murder. Booysen, who was the face of the so-called Cato Manor death squad, has now filed a R7-million lawsuit against the state for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution.
Booysen said his sin was to freeze a R15-million payment by the SAPS to Durban businessman Thoshan Panday, former president Zuma’s son, Edward’s business partner. Chauke in his response denied that he was a leading prosecutor in the Cato Manor matter and said he was only requested by Nomgcobo Jiba to coordinate a team of prosecutors to prosecute the case.
This after concerns were raised that prosecutors in Kwa- Zulu-Natal were working closely with the accused. Jiba and fellow senior prosecutor Lawrence Mrwebi were fired by Ramphosa in 2019 following the findings of the commission inquiry into their fitness to hold office, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro.
The Mokgoro inquiry found that Jiba and Mrwebi’s decisions had brought the NPA into disrepute. NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwenya said he would not comment on individual confidential internal correspondence amongst officials.
“However, there are internal processes underway in the NPA to deal with various matters that have arisen over time which may be in conflict with the values of the organisation particularly with regards to issues of accountability and credibility. The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is keen to have officials who are implicated, in one way or another, in matters they may not be consistent our values, the NPA policy and the Constitution to account,” he said.
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