Central SA
NW prosecutor in court for defeating justice─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 06:03 Wed, 26 Oct 2022
A former prosecutor of the National Prosecuting Authority is facing a charge of defeating the administration of justice by allegedly tampering with a docket.
The Ga-Rankuwa regional court postponed the case against Regina Letshoo, a former prosecutor of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to 11 November 2022 for legal representation and consultation.
Regina Letshoo's court appearance eminates from alleged misconduct committed on 27 August 2020. According to the North West NPA's spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, the 48-year-old allegedly took a docket on a case involving a foreign national and omitted information from the docket to favour the accused.
He explains that the foreign national was charged with possession of the suspected stolen property, driving an unregistered vehicle and failing to produce legal documents. Mamothame adds that her alleged misconduct resulted in the release of the suspect and the matter was struck off roll.
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He further adds that when the docket was ultimately found, following a daily audit of cases that appeared in court, the omissions were noted with her signature authorising the release of a suspect.
Mamothame says the court had issued a warrant of arrest against Letshoo after she failed to appear in court earlier yesterday. However, it was later withdrawn as she made a late appearance in court on the same day. Her case was postponed for legal representation.
Mamothame further alleges that on the day Letshoo signed the docket, she was not scheduled to report to work as per Covid-19 restrictions. He also explains that the duplicate docker which was kept by the chief prosecutor was then used to re-enroll the case.
Mamothame says police are still searching for the foreign suspect. Letshoo rendered her resignation in September 2022 while on suspension.
Meanwhile, Mamothame also stated that the provincial Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo, has since assured the public that the case against Letshoo will be dealt with "without fear or favour".
Makhari-Sekhaolelo said doing away with corruption within the NPA's ranks will be very critical in building and restoring public trust.
