Print article   email story

THE attitude and manner of doing things - more than anything - led President Thabo Mbeki to suspend National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli, the Ginwala Inquiry heard yesterday.

Reverend Frank Chikane, the Director General in the Presidency, said Pikoli's suspension had nothing to do with the investigation or pending arrest of National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi.

He said the problem was the manner in which documents held by the SA Police Service and Crime Intelligence Services (CIS) were being sought by the Scorpions in their investigation of Selebi.

Chikane said that he, on instruction of Mbeki, helped the Scorpions to get access to sensitive documents that they required from the police and CIS but was surprised when Pikoli suddenly arrived with search and seizure and arrest warrants for Selebi.

"The NDPP arrived and said Mr President I have acquired the warrants and would now proceed to carry out my responsibilities. It was like saying to the President that I don't need your assistance," Chikane said.

He said he was caught by surprise at this development since he had started a process which saw Scorpions investigators being allowed access to documents they needed from police.

"I was expecting them to write a report if they were not happy with the process. The problem is the lack of sensitivity in the executing of their responsibilities (on matters of national security and intelligence)," he said.

He added that: "The issue is not about arrest (of Selebi). It is a manner in which you deal with sensitive issues."

Chikane also told the inquiry that he was concerned about the Scorpions' continued use of investigators and private firms during their investigations of crime.

When the Scorpions raided the Union Building, in Pretoria, and Cape Town's Tuynhuis, the unit used private firms of experts to copy hard-drives of computers at those offices.

"I do not know whether that information (mirror copies of computers) has been compromised or not. That is still a concern to me," he said.

These concerns are also strengthened by the release of the report of Khampepe Commission into the mandate and location of the Scorpions, which lambasted Pikoli for failing to screen certain officials and private firms used in investigations.

"I asked Pikoli to ensure that the people he sent to the Union Building were vetted (as required by law). What I expected from the NDPP when searching the office of the President was that everything was done in accordance with the law," he explained.

When asked by one of Pikoli's counsel Tim Bruinders SC whether he asked the investigators on the day of the raid if they had been vetted, Chikane said: "Why should I do that? I had discharged my duties by raising the matter with Pikoli. It was not my job to sit there with a team of investigators and ask them if they were vetted or not." Chikane's cross-examination continues today.

Subscribe to the print edition of City Press