Picture: Bongani Shilubane/Independent Newspapers
The National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, has criticised "completely wrong" accusations made against the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regarding its handling of the corruption case involving former Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, stating that "she did not receive 5-star treatment."
This is after citizens criticised the NPA for allegedly serving the speaker with "five-star" treatment following the officials having intercommunicated with Mapisa-Nqakula's legal team on her first appearance in court.
Many suggested that the speaker received the soft treatment because of her position and political party affiliation.
"I want to deal with some of the criticism we faced from the media where people went and said that the speaker received the 5-star treatment and the way we tried to secure her attendance in court. This is completely wrong," she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula has been charged with 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering involving her receiving R2.3 million bribe while she was still the Minister of Defence.
She has since been released on R50,000 bail with conditions that she must surrender her passport and not apply for any.
Batohi addressed a round table with the media on Wednesday in Pretoria, where she briefed on the NPA's priorities and strategic initiatives. Mapisa-Nqakula's case is what she tapped in defence of the NPA.
According to Batohi, how the NPA dealt with the speaker's case has been the protocol for her past 30 years of being a prosecutor.
“I have been a prosecutor for almost 30 years and many of the colleagues here are the same. In many of these cases involving white collar criminals you often make as a prosecutor, we make arrangements with the lawyers acting for the suspect to bring the suspect to court.
"So this is not unusual and we will continue to do this... But that is a normal practice," she clarified the matter.
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