President Kgalema Motlanthe last week gave suspended national director of public prosecutions Vusi Pikoli the long-awaited report on his fitness to hold office. It is understood that the report was given to Pikoli for his response.

Pikoli was suspended in September last year and, as required by law, an inquiry into his fitness to hold office was held in May. It was chaired by Frene Ginwala, the former speaker of the National Assembly, appointed by then- president Thabo Mbeki.

Pikoli’s attorney, Aslam Moosajee of Deneys Reitz Attorneys, confirmed the report had been received. But he said it was marked confidential and refused to discuss its contents.

Moosajee would also not comment on why the report had been sent to Pikoli.

Government spokesman Themba Maseko said the report was given to Pikoli because “it was about him” and “because he requested it”.

But it is understood from two sources that the report was given to Pikoli for him to make further submissions to the president.

Maseko said Motlanthe had not yet made a decision on whether to re instate Pikoli.

The report has been kept tightly under wraps since it was sent to the president.

Reporters have not seen the report, but have reported that while it “cleared” Pikoli in the sense that it found him fit to hold office, it also criticised him on some issues *1.

Pikoli has consistently maintained that the sole reason for his suspension was to prevent him from proceeding with the prosecution of national police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Selebi was being investigated together with Clinton Nassif and Glenn Agliotti for offences related to corruption, fraud, murder and contraventions of the Police Act.

He was also suspected of protecting Agliotti in the South African Police Services’ investigation into businessman Brett Kebble’s murder.

But the government’s complaints against Pikoli were numerous. From their argument and cross-examination in the hearing, some of government’s complaints were:

• Pikoli disregarded former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla on the listing of the Scorpions as a “public entity” in terms of the Public Finance Management Act;

• Pikoli had entered into inappropriate plea and sentence agreements with Nassif and Agliotti;

• Pikoli allowed the Scorpions to gather intelligence which, by law, they were not allowed to do. This was, in particular, with regard to the infamous Browse Mole Report ;

• Pikoli authorised people with inadequate security clearances to conduct search and seizure operations at the Union Buildings and Tuynhuys;

• Pikoli informed Mabandla and Mbeki that he intended to prosecute Selebi, but not of his intention to obtain an arrest warrant against him; and

• Pikoli disregarded the president’s pleas for more time to prepare for the impending Selebi prosecution.

Many of these complaints were demolished by Pikoli’s legal team and others not even pursued by the government. But a few seemed to elicit a sympathetic response from Ginwala and her team.

These were the Browse Mole Report complaint, the security clearances issue, Pikoli’s failure to inform Mbeki and Mabandla about the possible arrest of Selebi, and that he refused Mbeki more than two weeks’ grace to “create an enabling environment” for the prosecution of Selebi.

Maseko said the report would be released “as soon as the president is ready”, and “as soon as possible”.

With acknowledgements to Franny Rabkin and Business Day.