THE CASE AGAINST A PROSECUTOR CHARGED WITH DEFEATING THE ENDS OF JUSTICE ADJOURNED FOR DISCLOSURES
The Ga-Rankuwa District Court adjourned the case against Regina Letshoo (48), a former prosecutor, charged with defeating the ends of justice, to 08 February 2023, for disclosures and finalising the appointment of a presiding officer. The state is expected to provide Lehloo’s attorney with all the documents before pretrial conferencing. The process of finalising the appointment of an outside presiding officer is also underway.
This move is appropriate to avoid misconceptions of bias, as Letshoo was a state prosecutor in the cluster where the case will be sitting. The state is ready to proceed with disclosures with Letshoo’s s new legal representative, as the previous one was withdrawn. She will remain out on a warning and is expected back in court on the set date.
Her court appearance emanates from an alleged misconduct committed on 27 August 2020, where she took a docket on a case involving a foreign national, who was charged with possession of the suspected stolen property, after he was found driving an unregistered vehicle, failing to produce legal documentation, and she allegedly omitted information from the docket to favour the accused. Her alleged misconduct ultimately resulted in the release of the suspect and the matter struck off the roll.
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 the suspect. It is also alleged that she was not scheduled to report for duty on that day as per the rotational schedule during the Covid 19 restrictions. A duplicate docker which was kept by the chief prosecutor was then utilised to re-enrol the case. Police are still searching for the suspect in that matter.
Letshoo has since seized to be in the employ of the National Prosecuting Authority in September 2022, after rendering her resignation while on suspension.
The North West Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Rachel Makhari Sekhaolelo, instructed for all processes to be followed before the start of the trial. “We should ensure that all processes are followed accurately to avoid unnecessary delays which may be misconstrued by suspicions of bias”, she added.
