Parliament is seeking legal advice on how to balance the right of an individual to a fair trial with Parliament’s right to subpoena them when they refuse to appear before the House.
This comes after the lawyers of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste indicated that he won’t appear before Parliament on Wednesday as this could put his right to a fair trial in jeopardy.
The chairpersons of the Standing Committees on Finance, on Public Accounts, and on Trade and Industry say they are taking legal advice and will then inform Speaker Baleka Mbete on the way forward.
“We agree that people have a right to a fair defence in a court of law and we cannot take over the role of the criminal justice system but on the other hand this parliament has established laws in terms of the constitution and the right to appear before the committee has to be balanced with a right to a fair hearing in court,” explains Chairperson of the Standing committee on Finance Yunus Carrim.
The portfolio committees of the National Assembly want Jooste to brief parliament about his role at Steinhoff.
Steinhoff’s shares plunged over 80% last year amid an international accounting scandal that many critics say is better described as white collar corruption.
