Charles Molele
President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi at the National Prosecuting Authority following recommendations by the Mokgoro Inquiry into the fitness of the two officials to hold office.
“The
inquiry has found that both officials are not fit and proper to hold their
respective offices,” the Presidency said in a statement on Friday.
“The President subsequently shared the report with the implicated officials and
invited them to make representations regarding the findings and
recommendations. Following receipt of these representations, the President has
informed Advocates Jiba and Mrwebi that their tenure has ended with immediate
effect.”
The inquiry, chaired by retired
Constitutional Court judge, was established
Ramaphosa established in October 2018 under the NPA Act, which
stipulates that Jiba and Mrwebi can only be removed after an enquiry into their
fitness to hold office.
Mrwebi, the director of public prosecutions and his deputy, Jiba, faced suspension for the way they had handled the infamous Richard Mdluli
case.
The former head of crime intelligence was suspended, in May 2011, for his alleged involvement in the murder of his former partner’s husband in 1999.
There were also a lot of murmurs about Mrwebi’s handling of certain criminal cases that involved people he was rumoured to have personal relationships with.
Jiba too was accused of nepotism, defeating the ends of justice by protecting her close allies — such as former president Jacob Zuma — from prosecution, and firing former Kwa-Zulu Natal Hawks head, Johan Booysen, for no apparent reason.
Both have vehemently denied the allegations and claimed they were principled prosecutors who fell victim to a vendetta by some within the NPA.
