Johannesburg - National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigators might have raided top official Lawrence Mrwebi’s office to obtain documents related to his decision to drop charges against former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.
NPA sources have claimed these documents included representations by Mdluli which led Mrwebi to believe there was no case against him.
The fight within the NPA about fraud and corruption charges against Mdluli also took a dramatic turn this week when its top officials laid countercharges against each other of defeating the ends of justice.
On Thursday the NPA laid two charges of defeating the ends of justice and contravening Section 32 of the NPA Act against Mrwebi after he gave former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach an instruction to provisionally withdraw charges against Mdluli.
The other charge for defeating the ends of justice relate to Mrwebi’s decision to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against Mdluli.
Last year, North Gauteng High Court Judge John Murphy found that his decision was illegal and irrational. In the second charge for defeating the ends of justice, Mrwebi, head of the specialised commercial crimes unit, is accused of trying to interfere in and even block an investigation into friend and colleague Terrence Joubert, head of the NPA’s security and risk management in KwaZulu-Natal.
Then NPA prosecutor and now spokesman Nathi Mncube had laid the charges against Mrwebi.
Joubert was implicated in the irregular award of a R20m security tender within the authority several years ago, but the charges were later withdrawn.
On Saturday Mrwebi confirmed he was served with the summons in his office. “They came to my office and I was officially charged. They took my fingerprints in my office. I was treated very well, like royalty you know. I did not mind going to a police station and be charged like everybody else because I’m not above the law,” he said.
He added: “In the Mdluli matter, they are basically charging me for doing my job. My duties are to provide, manage and direct investigation and prosecution. What I’m alleged to have done falls within my mandate. This is crazy.”
On Wednesday Mrwebi laid charges of defeating the ends of justice against the NPA’s chief executive officer Karen van Rensburg, her deputy Beryl Sisulu and officials from the Risk and Security Unit who raided his office and seized sensitive documents and his laptop.
Spokesman Mncube said they were not aware that Mrwebi had laid charges. He added: “We will allow the investigation to take place and deal with the matter at the appropriate time.”
Mrwebi threatened to lodge a massive civil claim against the NPA once the case had been concluded in court. He also said he was going to sue Mncube in his personal capacity for laying charges against him.
“He had the guts to lie under oath saying I interfered with the investigations,” Mrwebi fumed.
The Sunday Independent understands the raid was motivated by Mrwebi’s failure, for several months, to furnish National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Mxolisi Nxasana with all the reports relating to the Mdluli matter.
“He did not want to provide that information, therefore his office had to be raided. Why is he refusing to provide this information because it does not belong to him?” asked a source.
But Mrwebi vehemently denied this, saying all the documents that were seized relate to the investigations by the Integrity Management Unit (IMU) into former NPA prosecutor Breytenbach.
“They are trying to destroy the evidence against her,” he said.
According to an IMU report, Breytenbach allegedly solicited a $1 million (R11m) loan and a R6.3m donation from businessman Nathan Kirsh, who had been a complainant in a R250m fraud case which she worked on as lead investigator.
And last year, the FW de Klerk Foundation, via Kirsh, donated R6.3m to her legal battle against the NPA. The unit recommended she be charged with corruption, misconduct, conflict of interest, fraud and racketeering.
