Batohi to review withdrawal of charges against Kodwa after Hawks’ request

The office of national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi has been requested by the Hawks to review the decision to withdraw corruption charges against politician Zizi Kodwa and his co-accused businessman Jehan Mackay.

The director of public prosecutions (DPP) in Johannesburg, Andrew Chauke, withdrew the charges against the duo on Friday.

The state had alleged that Kodwa, between April 2015 and February 2016 — when he was employed as the ANC's spokesperson — received payments and luxury accommodation worth more than R1.6m as kickbacks for interventions in government tenders in favour of Mackay. 

Within hours of the charges being withdrawn, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said Batohi's office had received a request from the Hawks asking her office to review the decision by Chauke. 

Mhaga said the law allowed the national office to review the decision.

“The DPP decided to withdraw the charges against former minister Kodwa and his co-accused, after receiving representations that were submitted on behalf of the accused.

“In terms of section 179(5)(d) of the constitution, the NDPP may review a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute, after consultation with the relevant DPP and after taking representations within a specified period from the accused person; the complainant; any other person or party whom the NDPP considers to be relevant,” Mhaga said. 

“The NDPP will review the decision in line with the above stated legal framework and communicate the decision accordingly.” 

Batohi has been in the hot seat as high-profile corruption cases get struck off the roll or are withdrawn. Last year the authority suffered a setback when former Eskom boss Matshela Koko's R2.2bn corruption case, was struck off the roll. The Middelburg specialised commercial crimes court struck the case against Koko, his wife Mosima and stepdaughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma — who were charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering — off the roll due to delays. 

Batohi previously said analysis of evidence received after the arrests last October led to delays in the high-profile case.

“There was a lot of digital evidence that was secured after the arrest. The question is whether it could have been dealt with quicker. We are looking at those processes in analysing and properly understanding that evidence,” Batohi said.

The additional evidence made the case complex and the NPA needed more time, she said.

“The investigations will be completed and the matter will be enrolled, but this is a setback the NPA can do without. We are trying hard to ensure the public has confidence in the NPA's ability to deal with these matters.”

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