Didiza tells ad hoc committee to engage security concerns before summoning Mogotsi, O’Sullivan  

By Johnathan Paoli

National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has declined, for now, to approve attempts by the ad hoc committee investigating allegations of criminal infiltration and political interference in the criminal justice system to subpoena forensic investigator Paul O’ Sullivan and businessman and political fixer Brown Mogotsi.

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Didiza said in response to separate letters about summoning the men that the instruction to issue a summons may only be given after the Speaker agrees with the committee’s resolution, and that concurrence cannot be exercised arbitrarily.

Any decision to issue summonses must rest on the legally required grounds, including whether a witness has failed or refused, without sufficient cause, to appear.

Regarding Mogotsi, Didiza said the committee had addressed costs such as accommodation, flights, transfers and subsistence, but “did not engage with his personal security concerns”,