There was much controversy when Judge John Hlophe acquitted Bongani Bongo, former state security minister, of all charges after the state closed its case on the basis that the witnesses lacked credibility.
Bongo was charged with attempting to bribe evidence leader advocate, Ntuthuzelo Vanara, in the Eskom inquiry in Parliament a few years ago. Bongo was trying to collapse a 2017 parliamentary enquiry into state-owned enterprises and Eskom.
Vanara and other senior officials of Parliament gave evidence in the trial, but Bongo gave no evidence and Hlophe granted Bongo’s application to dismiss the case.
There was an outcry over Hlophe’s handling of the case, with people saying that his decision to dismiss the case was a travesty of justice.
It has been noted that Hlophe, Judge President of the Western Cape, took on the case himself, having not heard a criminal case himself for about three years. Hlophe himself faces similar charges with regard to trying to suborn two constitutional court judges in favour of former president Jacob Zuma.
The Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate, Nicolette Bell, after careful consideration of the facts, the law, and the legal principles applicable to cases of this nature, has decided to appeal the decision to acquit Bongo.