Breytenbach released on R10 000 bail

Pretoria - Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach was released on R10 000 bail in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

It was a brief appearance in which state prosecutor Raymond Mathenjwa asked for the matter to be postponed to March 16 to allow the defence to receive a copy of the docket.

The court heard of a list of witnesses she could not interfere with while out on bail. The defence agreed to the postponement and also agreed to abide by the conditions. 

The NPA claims Breytenbach shredded relevant papers and wiped clean her laptop while she was still the head of the organisation's specialised commercial crimes unit.

The NPA added that her lawyer Gerhard Wagenaar refused to hand over her laptop which was believed to contain evidence related to the case. 

NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said their case was very strong and believed they would get a conviction.

"We always maintain that when we take a decision to prosecute, there are always reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution," he said.

Mfaku maintained that there was no political motive behind the case. 

"We are not politicians, we don't look at political reasons when we take a decision," said Mfaku.

The Democratic Alliance however disagreed. The party's Tshwane mayoral candidate, Solly Msimang, said the charges were fabricated. He was in court and addressed supporters outside court. He told them the charges were fabricated and he added that they would support Breytenbach.

"We believe this is more politically motivated than getting justice. We are not going to suspend her until we see the charge sheet and until we know this is not politically motivated," he said.

This article first appeared on News24 – see here.