Batohi drops racketeering charges against Booysen and co-accused
Prosecutions boss Shamila Batohi has withdrawn racketeering charges against former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen and his co-accused.
The prosecution of Booysen and his co-accused was instituted by former Prosecuting Authority (NPA) heads Nomgcobo Jiba and Shaun Abrahams.
The charges relate to the actions of unit of the police based in Cato Manor.
The high court in Durban set aside Jiba’s decision to prosecute, but Abrahams reinstated the decision in 2016.
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The NPA’s Bulelwa Makeke says Batohi put together a panel to provide her with a legal opinion.
"To this end, the NDPP appointed a panel to review the authorisations and to provide her with an opinion and recommendations.
"The panel comprised two Directors of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Rodney de Kock and Advovate Ivy Thenga, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Shareen Riley, and Senior State Advocate Elijah Mamabolo. The latter two are part of the organised crime component of the NPA, with particular expertise in racketeering prosecutions."
The panel unanimously decided to overturn the decisions of Jiba and Abrahams.
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