Questions unanswered over NPA prosecutor - DA

2012-04-30 22:19

Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance said on Monday that important questions relating to the suspension of the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) corruption prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach remained unanswered.

Breytenbach, who heads the NPA's specialised commercial crimes unit in Pretoria, was issued issued with a letter of suspension on Monday after receiving a notice of intention to suspend her in February.

According to reports, Breytenbach was responsible for the NPA's arms deal probe and the fraud case against crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.

"The suspension has been widely interpreted as intimidation of a prosecutor who insists on doing her work without fear or favour and who resisted the dropping of fraud charges against crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli," DA MP Dene Smuts said in a statement.

Smuts said the DA had asked acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, during a portfolio committee on justice meeting on17 April, if the threat of suspension was not an attempt to intimidate Breytenbach and if she had been told to drop the fraud charges against Mdluli.

Jiba told the committee that there had never been any instructions or any political pressure. She also said that she did not know where the link between the Mdluli fraud case and Breytenbach’s proposed suspension came from, said Smuts.

The NPA also claimed there was no link between Breytenbach's suspension and Mdluli

"We dismiss those insinuations as baseless," spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said.

Mhaga said the charges related to her conduct in handling one of the cases allocated to her," NPA spokesperson.

"We will exercise restraint in commenting on this matter in view of legal implications in labour issues."

He said all the charges would be dealt with in a disciplinary hearing.

- SAPA