President Cyril Ramaphosa’s suspension of controversial Johannesburg prosecutions head Andrew Chauke on Monday, pending an inquiry into his fitness to hold office, could be “too little too late”.
This is according to former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen, one of Chauke’s victims. Chauke pushed for Booysen to face racketeering charges, despite a lack of evidence to warrant such action.
Appointed by former president Jacob Zuma in 2011, Chauke has been repeatedly criticised over his handling of politically-sensitive cases.
Booysen was targeted as he was leading corruption investigations into Durban businessman Thoshan Panday, a business associate of Zuma’s son Edward. The investigation led to the freezing of payments totalling R15m in a dodgy contract worth R60m.
The contract was between the police and Panday, for accommodation during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, which was hosted in South Africa.
Booysen told the Sunday Times this week: “His [Chauke’s] suspension now, could be too little, too late. Incredible reputational harm was done to the NPA by Chauke and other cohorts of [former acting national director of public prosecutions] Nomgcobo Jiba.”
Testimony from several witnesses before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by former chief justice Raymond Zondo, brought to light how Chauke — who was part of a team set up by Jiba to look into the case against Booysen and the Cato Manor serious and violent crimes unit — put undue pressure on then KwaZulu-Natal prosecutions head Simphiwe Mlotshwa to charge Booysen.
Despite pressure from Chauke and Jiba, Mlotshwa refused, citing a lack of any evidence in 2012. However, in 2016, then NPA boss Shaun Abrahams reinstated the charges, though the court had dismissed them.
The case was eventually withdrawn in 2019, in the Durban high court, soon after Shamila Batohi was appointed by Ramaphosa as the new director of public prosecutions.
A panel comprising two directors of public prosecutions, Rodney de Kock and Ivy Thenga; deputy director of public prosecutions, Shareen Riley; and senior state advocate Elijah Mamabolo, unanimously agreed
the authorisations by Jiba and Abrahams were invalid.
Booysen said: “Errant prosecutors must be held accountable. The inquiry into Chauke’s fitness to remain in office is long overdue.”
Batohi wrote to Ramaphosa asking he suspend Chauke in August 2023. Ramaphosa, who fired Jiba in 2019, only took action against Chauke this week.
Chauke has previously denied any wrongdoing, stating there was no legal or factual basis for him to face an inquiry.
Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the civil society group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), said Chauke’s suspension was a step in the right direction.
“Chauke’s removal is a case of better late than never. This development gives credence to Shamila Batohi’s recent comments that the NPA has been compromised,” Duvenage said.
Chauke also faced criticism from within the NPA, which blamed him for slow movement and delays in the prosecution of high-profile state capture cases stemming from the Zondo commission.
He was also accused of stalling prosecution against convicted former police crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
Recently, Chauke faced criticism in relation to his controversial decision to withdraw the corruption case against former minister Zizi Kodwa and his co-accused Jehan Mackay.
The Hawks then asked Batohi to review Chauke’s decision.
Duvenage said Chauke’s decisions while in office — including the withdrawal of charges against Kodwa and Mackay — still needed to be reviewed.
“Chauke’s reluctance to prosecute high-profile cases, such as Richard Mdluli and Zizi Kodwa, has raised serious concerns about prosecutorial independence and selective justice. We believe that Kodwa’s case needs to be reviewed and opened again,” Duvenage said.
Chauke was also blamed for delays in the prosecution of high-profile cases, including a fraud case against former Gauteng health MEC Brian Hlongwa, which was delayed for almost a decade.
A forensic report, which was required as crucial evidence in the case, somehow took from 2013 and 2018 to complete, with several forensic investigation firms working on it, delaying the enrolment of the case by Chauke.
Hlongwa, a former ANC chief whip in the Gauteng Legislature, faces charges that include fraud, corruption and money laundering, allegedly committed between 2006 and 2010.
The corruption trial will be back in the Johannesburg high court in April next year, pending the extradition of his co-accused, businessman Richard John Payne from the UK.
Payne, who scored tenders worth R1.2bn from the Gauteng health department, allegedly paid a R1.6m deposit for Hlongwa’s R7.2m Bryanston home in 2007, while another R1m was paid by Niven Pillay of Regiments Healthcare, a company subcontracted by Payne’s company.
Regiments Healthcare was a subsidiary of Regiments Capital, which was embroiled in other allegations of state capture.
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