Disorganised documents lead to abrupt adjournment of Nkabinde Inquiry

The Nkabinde Inquiry into the fitness of South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Advocate Andrew Chauke to hold office adjourned abruptly on Friday afternoon due to disorganised legal documents.

The documents, which inquiry leader Justice Bess Nkabinde said were disorganised, mentioned criminal dockets that were not made available to the commission, although National Director of Public Prosecution (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi, kept referring to them during her testimony. 

Before adjourning the hearing to 10am on November 24, Nkabinde cautioned Advocate David Mahlomanyane, the evidence leader, and National Prosecuting Authority’s legal representative Advocate Garth Hulley to work together for the success of the inquiry.

“All of you belong to the NPA, and Advocate Mahlomanyane cannot operate without the NPA. 

“Unfortunately, he is totally new to this matter, and for experience, it would be proper that you work as a team to assist this inquiry,” said Nkabinde. 

The disorganisation of the documents emerged as Batohi was testifying and mentioning the dockets, although they were not available.

Mahlomanyane said the missing documents would only be made available when a certain witness takes the stand to specifically testify on them. 

Nkabinde said she did not know why the dockets were not filed as part of the records because there was an agreement, which was made a court order, that they should be filed. 

“So the responsible party must file those documents appropriately, whether you are going to use them or not. Those documents will be before us as we are trying to find facts. 

“I am not sure whether I made myself clearer,” said Nkabinde. 

Hulley informed Nkabinde that he noticed on Thursday the lack of pagination of the documents, which he said he was not sure why it was the case. 

Hulley said that although his team was not part of the evidence leaders, his junior would be available to assist Mahlomanyane’s junior to sort out the documents. 

Nkabinde ordered Mahlomanyane to come to court on Monday with well-structured evidence.

“And you should not be going back and forth by next week because we are running now more behind schedule, (and) Advocate Batohi has been here for the week, and she obviously has to come back. 

“So let us try to get our house in order and assist one another,” she said.

She demanded that the missing documents be made available as soon as the inquiry resumes.  

“Where are those dockets? When you talk about documents in the affidavit, somebody might say, 'Where are those dockets?'

“It is appropriate that the NPA should provide those dockets, and when they do, they must file them appropriately,” Nkabinde said.

Mahlomanyane raised concerns that certain documents, including case dockets, were requested by Chauke’s legal team not to be used for questioning Batohi, but ended up forming part of the records when, in his view, they were not supposed to.

“They requested the documents from the NPA, from the evidence leader in particular, and the NPA made those documents available, but those documents would not talk to anything,” he said. 

Batohi has, early in the day, told the inquiry that the NPA had taken the right decision to set aside racketeering prosecution certificates against Major-General Johan Booysen in 2013.

The certificates had been issued by the then-acting National Director Nomgcobo Jiba.

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