NPA's Batohi yet to rule on decision to review Gauteng DPP's move to drop Kodwa charges
Kodwa was arrested earlier this year for allegedly accepting R1.7 million in kickbacks in exchange for government contracts during his tenure as ANC spokesperson.
Sports, Arts and Culture minister Zizi Kodwa in the dock at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting, in Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on 5 June 2024. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey-Makhaza/Eyewitness News
JOHANNESBURG - National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head, Shamila Batohi, has yet to make a ruling on her decision to review the withdrawal of fraud and corruption charges against former sports minister, Zizi Kodwa.
The director for public prosecutions in Gauteng, Andrew Chauke, dropped Kodwa's charges in November after he made representations to evade his case.
Kodwa was arrested earlier this year for allegedly accepting R1.7 million in kickbacks in exchange for government contracts during his tenure as ANC spokesperson.
Kodwa is one of a number of ANC leaders who’ve been in and out of court this year over accusations of graft.
The former sports minister was among 97 ANC leaders named in the Zondo Commission's report on state capture.
Evidence presented by both the commission and the State indicated that Kodwa received 14 payments from Jehan Mackay in exchange for directing tenders to his tech company.
Throughout court proceedings, Kodwa maintained that the NPA lacked sufficient evidence to support its claims, prompting him to seek the dismissal of charges against him, a bid that turned out to be successful.
"I have no doubt that the DPP, to arrive at this decision, he applied his mind to facts before him, not on the basis of what we hear in the trial of public court of opinion."
On the same day that his charges were dropped, Batohi announced that she had decided to review the decision to drop the case against the former minister.
Kodwa’s co-accused, Mackay, who is alleged to have paid him kickbacks, also had his charges withdrawn.