Glynnis calls theft of docket from cop car ‘ludicrous’
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach has described the theft of a docket relating to her charges from an investigating officer’s vehicle as “ludicrous”.
|||Johanensburg - Former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prosecutor and DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach has described the theft of a docket relating to her charges as “ludicrous”.
This comes after the docket was stolen from the vehicle of an investigating officer last week.
“I think it is completely ludicrous that it was stolen, I can’t believe it,” she told the Pretoria News on Wednesday.
“If the police mislaid the docket, they can come and get a copy from us, because we have copies,” she said.
Breytenbach and her former attorney Gerhard Wagenaar are facing four charges of contravening the NPA Act and two charges of defeating the ends of justice.
The pair appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on March 16 where the prosecution said it had concluded the investigation and added charges of fraud and perjury against Breytenbach. The matter was postponed until April 8.
NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfako refused to comment on the lost docket and directed all questions to the Hawks.
Hawks spokesman Robert Netshiunda confirmed that the docket was stolen and that a case of theft out of motor vehicle and malicious damage to property was being looked into. He said that was the only docket stolen during the incident.
“The docket was stolen from a vehicle that was being driven by one of the investigating officers. He parked the vehicle outside the serious economic offences unit’s offices and was in there for about five minutes when someone broke into the vehicle,” said Netshiunda.
The charges stem from an NPA investigation in 2012 in which Breytenbach was investigated for misconduct. The NPA claims Breytenbach allegedly shredded relevant papers and wiped clean her laptop while she was still the head of the organisation’s specialised commercial crimes unit. She was said to have refused to hand over her official laptop to NPA officials conducting the investigation at the time.
The Hawks are investigating Breytenbach for her alleged role in a R30 million-a-year, five-year contract to administer the Hosmed medical aid scheme. Hosmed was allegedly awarded the contract at the expense of Allcare, which was the preferred bidder.
Allegations are that Breytenbach’s partner was a representative for one of the bidders that were eliminated. It is alleged that to ensure that their client was awarded the contract, police officials, Breytenbach, her partner and other officials developed a strategy to discredit and “embarrass Allcare by carrying out raids” allegedly timed to ensure Allcare lost the lucrative contract.
The other allegations relate to the Competition Commission’s probe into tender-rigging in the construction industry. - Additional reporting Solly Maphumulo
Pretoria News