State capture: 'There was not a shred of evidence against Johan Booysen'

Former national director of public prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana on Wednesday said he believed there was "not a shred of evidence" of racketeering against former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen.

Nxasana, who was testifying at the state capture inquiry in Johannesburg, said when he assumed office in 2013, his predecessor Nomgcobo Jiba "did not comply" with his request for a formal handover process. If that had happened, high-profile cases such as Booysen's would have been discussed. 

Jiba brought the charges against Booysen for his alleged involvement in the now-infamous Cato Manor "death squad". Booysen has since been cleared.

Nxasana claimed that when he asked Jiba about the charges, she said she relied on "experts" in the field of racketeering prosecutions.

"What was there in the docket was a mere unsigned statement commissioned from one witness who left the country. The other statements were hearsay statements twice removed. My feeling was that there is no way that we would succeed (in a prosecution)," Nxasana said.

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He said the team of experts who advised Jiba appeared to be divided on the issue.

"It became very clear that there was no evidence in the docket to justify the charges …There was not a shred of evidence against Booysen."

His testimony is continuing.