Pikoli 'suspended over Selebi'
2008-07-02 12:00
Johannesburg - Suspended prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli began his testimony at the Ginwala inquiry into his fitness to hold office on Wednesday.
After being sworn in he was asked by his lawyer Wim Trengove to confirm the official reason for his suspension.
"That is not correct. I was suspended in order to stop the investigation and prosecution of National Commissioner of Police, Mr Jackie Selebi."
The inquiry was established after he was suspended last year on the grounds of an irretrievable breakdown in communication between himself and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla.
On September 23 last year Mabandla asked him to resign as director of National Director of Public Prosecutions. He declined and, after a meeting with President Thabo Mbeki, was suspended.
- SAPA