NPA appoints 4 big guns to fight Jacob Zumaâs attempt to force out Billy Downer
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Pietermaritzburg - Hours after announcing on Wednesday that it intended to fight legal attempts by former president Jacob Zuma to force advocate Billy Downer SC out as the prosecutor of his corruption, fraud and money laundering trial, the NPA has hired four senior counsel to stage a legal fightback.
The team of four will be led by Advocate Wim Trengove SC, a legal eagle who previously defeated attempts by Thales to have its racketeering charges against it set aside.
Thales is a co-accused in the corruption trial, as the NPA alleges that they knowingly engaged in a criminal enterprise with Schabir Shaik and his company, Nkobi Holdings, to bribe Zuma with cash and gifts worth over R4.7 million between 1995 and 2005.
Nkosana Makate, Please Call Me inventor Photo: Leon Sadiki Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate said he is expecting the judge to rule in his favour in his latest battle with Vodacom
Judgment for the review hearing of the R47 million compensation, offered by Vodacom, has been reserved.
Vodacom defended its position saying the CEO Shameel Joosub was justified in the offering Makate that amount. Makate says he deserves more than R10 billion
Nkosana Makate, who believes he deserves more than R10 billion in compensation from Vodacom for creating its Please Call Me feature, says he has given all that he could in his 20-year battle with the cellular provider, and has pinned all his hopes on the courts ruling in his favour.
Gallo Images/Business Day/Freddy Mavunda
The independent inquiry into allegation of racism and abuse of power by Eskom CEO chief executive Andre de Ruyter will be headed by senior advocate Ishmael Semenya.
De Ruyter, who took over as Eskom CEO in January 2020, is facing allegations of racial bias levelled against him by his Chief Procurement Officer, Solly Tshitangano, who is currently on suspension. Tshitangano accused his boss of flouting procurement guidelines and his conduct when dealing with black suppliers, who are said to be treated differently to white contractors. The board has committed to a transparent process and to provide updates at critical stages of the inquiry, said Eskom.
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter (Deon Raath)
The board of state power utility Eskom announced on Tuesday that it will appoint an independent senior counsel to lead an investigation into allegations of racism levelled at its CEO André de Ruyter. The allegation not only brings Eskom into disrepute, but it also threatens to detract and distract the focus of the executive team and the GCE [group chief executive] in particular from their critical job of restoring Eskom to operational and financial sustainability, the board said in a statement. The counsel will be empowered to interview any person that may be of assistance in the probe, and consider any evidence, and will then report back to the board and make recommendations.