By Teboho Serutla
The Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro has suspended from duty the director general of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), Mahlomola Manyokole.
Majoro suspends Manyokole on the advice of the minister of justice and law, following the establishment of a tribunal in terms of legal notice No.139 of 2020. The tribunal is set up to determine Manyokole’s fitness to hold office.
Manyokole is also facing criminal charges and is currently out on bail.
“Acting pursuant to the provision of section 4 (6) of the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act no.5 of 1999 (As amended) and given the fact that you are also accused in the above-referenced case, I am empowered under common law to place you on suspension on account of criminal proceedings in which you are currently on bail, with full pay and benefits forthwith.
“You are suspended until investigations on the abovementioned cases which should answer whether Manyokole should be allowed back at the office, have reached the conclusion. On even note, the criminal trial in which you are charged and currently on bail is yet another weighty factor that prompts the suspension that I currently place upon you,” Majoro states in the letter.
The Prime Minister also ordered Manyokole to submit all the property of the Directorate in his possession such as keys or any other material in his possession which is necessary for the smooth transition of his immediate junior. Manyokole is ordered not to attend his workplace other than for the purpose of assisting in the investigation into his conduct by the tribunal.
However, Manyokole must remain available to meet with any of the persons assigned to investigate his matter. He is ordered not to contact any other employee of the Directorate during this period of suspension, and also to refrain from venturing in any public debates or conduct public interviews about the privileged institutional information of DCEO without express authorization of the acting head, and any such act will prompt disciplinary action against him.
