The head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Vusi Pikoli, was disrespectful towards President Thabo Mbeki and "arrogantly" threatened to arrest Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla for the obstruction of justice.
It was announced on Saturday that former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala has been appointed to lead the task team or commission to probe what led to the "irretrievable breakdown" of relations between Pikoli and Mabandla. It was not immediately clear on Saturday how much time Ginwala would have for her probe, but it is believed Mbeki would prefer it to be dealt with as quickly as possible. This also comes as Pikoli's NPA deputies rally behind him. They are vowing to resign en masse if Pikoli is not returned. "I am totally unaware of a move like that. It's speculation I would rather not comment on," said NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali.
The threat to Mabandla came as she tried to get Pikoli to stop the execution of a warrant of arrest for national police commissioner Jackie Selebi last week.
Mbeki had asked her to convince Pikoli that the arrest would cause a national and international crisis for government given Selebi's presidency of Interpol.
Source: News 24
No comments:
Post a Comment