Former SAA boss Dudu Myeni has challenged the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) decision to charge her with defeating or obstructing the administration of justice, and wants the decision to be reviewed.
This was revealed in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday when Myeni made her first appearance since the main charge and two alternative charges were preferred against her on March 2.
The State’s case against Myeni was postponed until May 4 to allow the prosecution team to look into the merits of her application.
The NPA requested the postponement after the court heard that Myeni’s legal team only made its legal representation on Monday.
NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said: “The process that an accused person is granted to try to convince the prosecution to relook into prosecuting them, obviously starts through those and (the) presentation.”
She said the State must ensure that it had a strong case against Myeni to allow her to stand trial on the allegations against her.
Yesterday, in the indictment presented in court, the State alleged that Myeni was guilty of the crime of defeating or obstructing the administration of justice, read with Section 256 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
The State alleges that on November 5, 2020, near Johannesburg in the regional division of Gauteng, Myeni did unlawfully and with the intent to defeat or obstruct the administration of justice, at the hearing of the commission, disclose the identity and/or name of a witness that the chairperson (the Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo) had ordered should not be disclosed or published, and that the witness was to be referred to as Mr X during his evidence to the commission, and after his evidence insofar as the commission was concerned, which act defeated or obstructed the administration of justice.
On the alternative charge, the State alleges that Myeni is guilty of the crime of contravening the provisions of regulations 9 and 12 of the Regulations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State published in the government gazette on February 9, 2018.
Myeni was not asked to plead on the charges against her. She revealed the identity of the witness after Mr X had testified before the commission that he and Myeni had swindled and laundered millions of rand from Mhlathuze Water when she was the board chairperson.
She was asked about Mr X's testimony that he received money from her son's company, Premier Attraction, but Myeni went on to name the witness.
Following that disclosure, Justice Zondo then recommended that criminal action should be undertaken against Myeni.
She was served with the indictment early this month following a 16-month investigation.
Political Bureau