By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former SAA chair Dudu Myeni pleaded guilty in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to a charge of obstruction of justice for naming a protected witness at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
The court ruled that she pay a R120 000 fine, or face two years in prison. Half of the amount was suspended for five years.
In the indictment, the State alleged that Myeni was guilty of the crime of defeating or obstructing the administration of justice, read with Section 256 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
The State alleges that on November 5, 2020, near Johannesburg in the regional division of Gauteng, Myeni did, unlawfully and with the intent to defeat or obstruct the administration of justice, at the hearing of the Commission, disclose the identity and/or name of a witness that the chairperson, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, had ordered should not be disclosed or published.
Zondo had instructed that the witness be referred to as Mr X during the State Capture Commission.
In May, Myeni was threatened with arrest after she failed to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
At the time, her lawyer told the court that she was absent due to a medical condition.
However, a warrant of arrest was issued against Myeni for her failure to appear in the court, but it was put on hold with the condition that it would be effected only if she failed to attend court on her next appearance.
Myeni served as the chair of SAA between 2012 and 2017.
The first volume of the State Capture Inquiry report, released in January, recommended probes into Myeni and the affairs of numerous former high-ranking SAA officials who served under her.