President Cyril Ramaphosa has acted on former Justice Mokgoro’s recommendation by firing National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) senior prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has fired NPA senior prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi. This comes after the Mokgoro inquiry – consisting of Advocate Kgomotso Moroka SC, Thenjiwe Vilakazi and headed by retired Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, found Jiba and Mrwebi unfit to hold their respective offices.
In her report, Mokgoro did not mince her words about Jiba and Mrwebi’s status to hold their respective offices.
“In view of the totality of evidence, and in light of the evaluation … we find that both Jiba and Mrwebi are not fit and proper to hold their respective offices.
“We find that as a senior member of the NPA, Jiba has displayed irreverence to the courts and indifference to their processes, resulting in adverse comments being made about her.
“Mrwebi’s conduct is inconsistent with the obligation imposed by the Prosecution Policy Directives which requires prosecutors to act in a balanced and honest manner. The code of conduct for members of the prosecuting authority requires that prosecutors be individuals of integrity whose conduct is objective, honest and sincere,” the report read.
Ramaphosa’s decision to fire the duo will be sent to parliament within the next two weeks, which will then have 30 days to decide to either uphold the decision or restore Jiba and Mrwebi to their positions.
Abenathi Gqomo
a.gqomo@politicalanalysis.co.za
