legal team

The legal team representing Mr Matlala was not involved in the plea negotiations and lacks the notes and documents related to those negotiations, thus they are not prepared to answer questions about them yet.

“we were not involved in those negotiations. We know what transpired and under what circumstances in those negotiations. ... my attorney and my self made the decision that we are not prepared to deal with any of these questions until such time as we are provided with the notes as to what transpired during these negotiations, as well as potentially any other documents that were drafted and signed ... We want to come here as officers of the court properly advising our client that these are questions that you have to answer, you are compelled to answer them. You cannot, let us say, invoke section 35 right ... we still cannot give you an answer ... because we still do not have that.”

Mr Matlala's legal team denies that he is the mastermind behind the issues before the commission and says there is a fallacy in that implication.

“The fact of the matter is that my client has been made out to be this mastermind by everybody and we respectfully, from our interaction, say that there is a fallacy in that.”

Mr Nku's supplementary statement was more detailed and given in consultation with the Evidence Leaders and legal team, providing greater clarity about the context and source.

“However, in the supplementary statement, to a greater extent, there was guidance provided because I had engaged with the Evidence Leaders along with the legal team. So I did not know how detailed must the statement be...I thought I was answering questions because there were questions posed on the initial statement.”

The witness and his legal team need to consult but do not need days to do so; an hour would be reasonable before proceeding.

“The witness and his legal team now need time to consult, but they do not need time. They do not need days to consult. They can stand down, consult for a reasonable period, maybe an hour, and then we are ready to run”