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- The Presidency says that the NDPP Shamila Batohi asked Ramaphosa to launch an investigation into Moipone Noko’s suitability for the post in November.
- Noko, head of the North West Prosecutor’s Office, resigned three days after being informed of this pending investigation and its possible suspension.
- The former head of KZN NPA dropped corruption charges against Edward Zuma’s “untouchable” business partner, Thoshan Panday, and lobbied for the Hawks chief who investigated them, Johan Booysen, to be illegally prosecuted.
President Cyril Ramaphosa accepted the resignation of Northwest Prosecution Chief Moipone Noko, who asked to resign after being informed that he would face an investigation into his fitness for office, as well as a possible suspension.
The presidency says Ramaphosa accepted Noko’s resignation after the national director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Shamila Batohi, recommended that he do so.
Noko was the head of the KwaZulu-Natal Public Ministry when she dropped corruption charges against Edward Zuma’s “untouchable” business partner, Thoshan Panday, and lobbied the then KZN Hawks head who had investigated him for illegal extortion. , Johan Booysen.
READ | Thoshan Panday, co-defendant, faces 261 corruption charges for SAPS bid fraud
She continues to insist that her decisions in these cases, which were overturned in court, were fully justified, despite several scathing findings being made against her. Those findings were the basis he would have faced had he remained in office.
While Noko previously told News24 that he had decided to resign before being notified of the pending investigation into his fitness for office, a statement released by the presidency on Friday confirms that he was notified three days before he resigned that Ramaphosa he had decided that his conduct should be formally investigated.
A matter of courtesy
In a communication dated February 9, 2021 and channeled through the Minister of Justice and Penitentiary Services, the president asked Adv Noko to explain in writing the reasons why it should not be suspended pending the institution and the completion of an investigation into your suitability for the position.
“As a matter of courtesy, on February 11, 2021, the National Prosecutor’s Office, as an employer, informed Attorney Noko that she should wait to receive the letter from the President. On February 14, 2021, Attorney Noko requested permission to vacate her The National Director of the Public Ministry (NDPP) forwarded the request for the resignation of Lawyer Noko, through the Minister and with his support, to the President with the recommendation that Lawyer Noko be allowed to leave her position. “
The presidential statement also says that Batohi asked Ramaphosa to launch an investigation into Noko’s fitness for office in November last year and further requested the president to suspend her pending the outcome of the investigation.
The investigation would have focused on Noko’s decision to drop corruption and fraud charges against Panday, a businessman accused of using bribery to secure R47 million in the South African Police Service’s FIFA World Cup tenders. .
Booysen
She was also criticized for the role she played in the NPA’s legally overruled decision to press extortion charges against Booysen, who had been investigating Panday, for the alleged “assault squad” activities of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit of KZN at Cato Manor.
The charges against Booysen and the unit were dropped by the NPA, following an in-depth investigation by a panel led by Chief Prosecutor Rodney de Kock, who made several damning findings about Noko’s apparent dishonesty in the case.
Noko was also reprimanded by Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Trevor Gorven, who questioned her rationality in dropping all charges against Panday, in a ruling in which he dismissed the businessman’s attempt to invalidate the State’s decision to reactivate the case in his against.
Pietermaritzburg Superior Court Judge Trevor Gorven said:
“If you are looking for irrationality in the decision-making process on this matter, this is the place to find it,” Gorven said, referring to Noko’s claim that there was no evidence to prosecute anyone for any crime. “This simply ignores a 400-page report from forensic accountants and a ‘trove’ of documents that allegedly provide evidence of Mr. Panday’s involvement in the crimes.”
Noko has sought to defend its conduct in both the Booysen and Panday cases and has openly questioned the legitimacy of the pending case of the Directorate of Investigation against the businessman and his police co-defendant.
While a prosecutor in office would normally serve a six-month notice period, it is understood that Noko left her post on March 1, a clear indication of how badly her relationship with the NPA has broken down.
