Public prosecutions director said she did not want to continue with her testimony without first obtaining legal counsel.
National director of public prosecutions (NDPP) advocate Shamila Batohi left the Nkabinde inquiry in limbo on Monday when she refused to continue with her testimony until she had consulted with her legal team.
The Nkabinde inquiry is looking into Gauteng director of public prosecutions Andrew Chauke’s fitness to hold office.
The inquiry was set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa after Batohi referred Chauke’s case to him, alleging the Gauteng director of public prosecutions had protected high-profile people and made politically-motivated prosecutionl choices
Batohi reportedly questioned Chauke on his apparent reluctance to prosecute former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, for culpable homicide after he crashed his Porsche into a taxi in 2014.
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Batohi refuses to give evidence in Nkabinde inquiry
The NDPP was still facing cross-examination at the Nkabinde inquiry on Monday. The hearings, however, had to be halted after Batohi didn’t return after the lunch break.
Chairperson Justice Bess Nkabinde then ordered Batohi to return after being told she had not sought permission to halt her testimony.
Batohi admitted she had not sought permission, but said she did not want to continue without first getting legal counsel.
“I decided, chairperson, that I was not going to come back, pending getting proper legal counsel,” she said. “I wasn’t seeking permission. That I decided I needed to do, because it is about me and my integrity.”
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Nkabinde, however, accused Batohi of being disrespectful.
“We are not just here as a kind of court, where one can say, ‘no I don’t, I’m not going to participate’. We are here because you took time to write a letter to the president [concerning] the conduct of advocate Chauke and the president then constituted this inquiry and you came here to testify,” Nkabinde said.
Batohi then apologised after being accused of showing disrespect.
“I apologise, that was not my intention,” she said.
Batohi’s cross-examination
Tension first arose last week when Batohi told the inquiry she was not informed she would have to face cross-examination.
Nkabinde denied this and warned the NDPP against criticising her and the inquiry’s co-chairs.
Batohi made these claims when being asked by Chauke’s lawyers to provide evidence that supports the claims she made against the Gauteng director of public prosecutions.
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