Suspended Johannesburg director of public prosecutions Andrew Chauke stormed out of a meeting with national head Shamila Batohi, where former minister Zizi Kodwa was the subject of discussion.
Sunday World can reveal that weeks before Chauke was suspended last week, Batohi summoned him to a meeting at the National Prosecuting Authority head office in Pretoria.
At the meeting, the duo was to discuss the decision of his office to drop the corruption prosecution against Kodwa and businessman Jehan Mackay.
But unbeknownst to Chauke, Batohi had also invited his juniors, who were connected to the meeting virtually.
The ambush is said to have offended Chauke, who has been under siege from Batohi for years.
Informants close to the situation said Chauke was also disturbed by Batohi’s manoeuvres to make him the personal custodian of the Kodwa decision.
“The meeting was about the Zizi Kodwa matter, for which Batohi insists there is a case to answer, while Chauke and his deputies insist there is no case, given the weak evidence. But the issue is that Chauke did not decide that there is no basis for prosecution; his deputies did, and like every boss, he defends his subordinates.
“Batohi, in that meeting, wanted the Johannesburg deputies to present the story of why the decision was made not to prosecute Zizi Kodwa and for Chauke to be grilled on it. But Chauke told her in no uncertain terms that it was nonsensical to seek to hold him accountable in front of his juniors in a manner that looked like an ambush,” said an insider.
Our moles said it was at this point that Chauke stood up and left the meeting.
Those within the higher echelons at NPA said Chauke, a career prosecutor, has resisted pressure from Batohi to charge “big name” politicians even in the absence of evidence.
“Shamila is vested in nailing so-called top politicians. This is what the civil society groupings are all about; remember, they run the show now in influencing how the NPA does its work, but Chauke is resistant, and takes decisions based on evidence presented regardless of the name of the accused.”
On the Kodwa matter, our moles reveal that Batohi does not enjoy concurrence from her colleagues at the NPA head office, where she is said to be the lone voice pushing for Kodwa to be charged again.
Chauke is on suspension pending an inquiry into his fitness to hold office, a process whose terms of reference are yet to be formulated, as is the charge sheet. So far, the whispers in NPA corridors are that Chauke will be grilled on his alleged role in the case against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and the Cato Manor killing squad under former KZN Hawks head Johan Booysen.
But those in the know have alleged hidden agendas, which include the Kodwa case but also that Chauke is being persecuted for refusing to charge certain politicians, known to Sunday World, based on media articles.
“Chauke has been under pressure to charge these politicians, but he has been refusing, saying, ‘I do not have evidence’, so they wanted a pliable DPP in Joburg,” said a highly placed source close to the events.
“At some point, they took the files to another prosecutor in Pretoria but that prosecutor also refused for the same reasons.
“The level of desperation to charge these politicians is so high, it looks like an instruction to charge, whether there is a case or not, has been issued. The ultimate goal is to see these politicians stepping aside; whether the case sticks or not is neither here nor there.”
Some have alleged that the beef between Batohi and Chauke might also be a matter of professional jealousy. Chauke scored higher than Batohi during the interview for the post, which President Cyril Ramaphosa ended up giving to Batohi despite her not even making the top three – Chauke scored second highest. The offensive against Chauke is also believed to be a strategy to diminish his chances to apply to succeed Batohi who is leaving early next year.
Chauke refused to comment, saying his legal team had advised him not to engage with the media. Kodwa said, “No comment, mhlekazi.”
NPA national spokesperson Adv Mthunzi Mhaga had not responded to questions at the time of going to print.
