Pretoria – The NPA respects a ruling made by a disciplinary hearing in favour of suspended prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach, spokesperson Nomilo Mpondo said on Monday.

“We will study the ruling to determine the way forward,” she said.

Breytenbach was found not guilty on 15 counts on Monday by a disciplinary hearing which sat at the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) head office in Pretoria.

“The guilt of the employee on this plethora of charges has not been established,” said the hearing’s chairperson Selby Mbenenge SC.

Breytenbach was also found not guilty on any of the alternative charges.

A core charge against the anti-graft prosecutor was failing to act impartially when investigating the Kumba Iron Ore/Sishen and Imperial Crown Trading mining rights issue, because of “improper relations” with Sishen’s lawyer Mike Hellens.

Other charges included “surreptitiously leaking” NPA inside information to Beeld journalist Sonja Carstens; giving her official NPA laptop to her lawyer; and “maligning” the NPA in the media.

Breytenbach was suspended from the NPA on 30 April 2012.

She claimed acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba suspended her to stop her from prosecuting former police crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli on fraud and other charges.

In March, a parallel arbitration hearing at the Public Service Bargaining Council, in Centurion, found Breytenbach’s suspension was both procedurally and substantively fair.

Her lawyer Gerhard Wagenaar said it was still being considered whether to review or appeal the arbitration hearing decision.

Questionable

On Monday, Breytenbach was acquitted on five counts relating to allegations that Hellens influenced her, and that she allowed him to try to turn an accused – Imperial Crown Trading director Archie Luhlabo – into a State witness.

“There is not an iota of evidence that [Breytenbach] improperly attempted to obtain a confession from Mr Luhlabo by conspiring with Mr Hellens and [Nazeer Cassim SC] to do so,” Mbenenge said.

“I do not, therefore, see my way clear in finding the employee guilty of misconduct on count one.”

Mbenenge found there was no evidence to contradict Breytenbach’s argument that she was always in control of the case and had remained objective.

She was acquitted on charges of misconduct relating to her work laptop and the information on it.

The NPA also charged her with bringing it into disrepute and contravening its media policy and public service regulations.

The NPA said that during interviews between February and June 2012 Breytenbach had stated that ulterior motives were behind her suspension.

“There is neither direct nor circumstantial evidence of the employee having conducted interviews to the media reporters and/or media houses concerning the reason [perceived or otherwise] for her suspension,” Mbenenge said.

After hearing the finding Breytenbach hugged Wagenaar. He then read out a statement by her, in which she thanked everyone for their support.

“I am relieved that the chairperson saw the lack of justification in the charges laid against me,” she said.

In the statement, she also said she intended returning to work if she was allowed to do so.

Political parties have praised the disciplinary hearing’s finding.

“We call on the NPA to immediately re-instate her and allow her to continue with her work,” Christian Democratic Party leader Theunis Botha said in a statement.

He said Breytenbach’s suspension had been questionable from the outset, as some of the country’s most powerful politicians had been implicated in the matters involved.

“We strongly recommend that all outstanding matters be resolved as soon as possible,” Botha said.

Democratic Alliance MP Dene Smuts also called for Breytenbach’s immediate re-instatement.

“The once superb Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit had already suffered the loss of its leader, advocate Chris Jordaan, during the tenure of advocate Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions, when advocate Breytenbach was suspended,” she said.

Smuts said Breytenbach had to be allowed to return to work.

SAPA

Sana’a – Gunmen abducted two South African citizens on Monday in Yemen’s second largest city, Taiz, and police said a lawmaker was behind the kidnapping to pressure the government to hand over a disputed piece of land.

It was the latest twist in Yemen’s bumpy road to democracy after more than three decades of autocratic rule that ended with longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ouster in an uprising last year. 

The country’s new president is struggling to unify the country and its armed forces in the face of resistance from an active al-Qaeda branch in Yemen and powerful tribes.

Abductions are not rare in Yemen, but Monday’s kidnapping of foreigners was unusual in its circumstances and is the first in Taiz, near the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Police said that they received a call from assistants of lawmaker Abdel-Hamid el-Batra saying he organised the kidnapping outside the Taiz Plaza hotel because of a dispute with the government over a piece of land. 

The lawmaker pledged to hand over the foreigners in exchange for the land, police officials said. 

They spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to speak to reporters.

El-Batra belongs to the country’s ruling party and has been a member of parliament for 10 years.

Earlier, an interior ministry source had said the South Africans had apparently been mistaken for Europeans or Americans.

Unlike other parts of Yemen, Taiz has been relatively free of the type of violence other provinces have seen. 

However, in March 2012 al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for killing an American teacher there, saying in a post on militant websites that he was proselytising for Christianity.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen is expanding, according to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and has used assassinations and abductions of foreigners as a way to challenge the central authority. 

The United States considers the Yemen branch to be al-Qaeda’s most active and dangerous.

In 2011, during the uprising against Saleh, al-Qaeda overran entire cities and towns in the south of the country. 

Taiz, however, remained a hub for elite Yemeni activists and academics who camped out for months in protest until the longtime ruler stepped down.

AP

Midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi and defender Tsepo Masilela have been withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad that will play in the upcoming international friendly match (Lesotho)and two Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (Central African Republic and Ethiopia).

Dikgacoi tore his calf muscle ligaments when his club Crystal Palace defeated Watford one nil in the English Championship Play-off Final earlier today (Monday, 27 May 2013). He was carried off early in the first half.

The match was played at the Wembley Stadium, and the victory means Palace will play in the English Premiership next season.

Masilela was withdrawn due to a planned operation on his knee which has troubled him all season. He was part of the team that defeated Supersport United in the final of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday, 25 May at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. 

Slovakia-based Ricardo Nunes will replace Masilela and is expected in camp on Wednesday, 29 May with the rest of the squad.

“We have really had some bad luck with defenders lately missing out due to injury, this is really a big blow for us in that department. Already, we are without Morgan Gould, Siyabonga Sangweni, Thabo Matlaba, and now Masilela. Siyanda Xulu recently returned from an injury, but they say when one door closes the other opens, so I believe this is a chance for the players in the squad to raise their hands and also help their country through these difficult times,” said Bafana Bafana head coach Gordon Igesund.

“I am very happy for KG for the promotion to the English Premier League, but it is just unfortunate he won’t be with us. He is a good player and I believe he deserves to be playing at the highest level which will in turn help Bafana Bafana.”

There is no replacement yet for Dikgacoi.

“We are hoping for a speedy recovery for him. I still have to apply my mind as to whether to call in a replacement, but if I do it will be a player based locally. For now I want to sleep over it as I don’t want to make any quick decisions,” added Igesund.