JOHANNESBURG - The legal team representing suspended National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola says the Independent Directorate for Anti-Corruption (IDAC) was overly ambitious in pursuing charges against the top cop.
The comments come after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) withdrew charges against Masemola in the Medicare24 SAPS tender case.
However, the matter must still return to court, where the withdrawal of the charges is expected to be formally recorded.
READ | 'Very relieved': Cachalia welcomes withdrawal of Masemola charges
Masemola’s lawyer, Morongoe Seleka, says the defence reached its conclusions after reviewing the police docket and thousands of pages of evidence.
“We have seen from the disclosure of the police docket, the records that have been supplied to us in consideration of what exactly General Masemola is being charged with,” Seleka said.
He said the defence team had been required to examine more than 30,000 pages of material.
Seleka argued that their review of the docket raised serious questions about the investigation and the charges brought against Masemola.
“We have come to the conclusion that this is a serious misplacement of the investigative mandate of IDAC and also prosecutorial duties that IDAC has, in terms of the legislation, been mandated with,” he said.
Seleka went further, describing IDAC’s decision to pursue the charges as “judicial overreach”.
Read more: UPDATE: Case against Masemola, other cops postponed