The inquiry into the fitness of two top suspended advocates to hold office stood down on Wednesday to confirm whether one of the advocates in question will be prosecuted by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) on pending criminal charges.

During proceedings, advocate Thabani Masuku, for Suspended Deputy National Director for Public Prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba, informed the commission there is a possibility that the NPA is considering to enroll fraud and perjury charges against Jiba.

Masuku said he was concerned that this might affect the inquiry.

Wednesday's witness, Jan Ferreira, was the prosecutor who recommended that charges of fraud and perjury be pursued against Jiba.

Jiba has been accused of fraud and perjury for authorising the racketeering case against former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen in 2012.

The High Court in Durban found Jiba’s decision was arbitrary, offended the principle of legality and the rule of law, and was unconstitutional.

Masuku said they are faced with difficulty relating to how they will cross-examine Ferreira.

"If the NPA decision is that prosecution against Jiba should proceed, we have problems. We don’t want to put statements to Ferreira that may well affect our rights when we appear before the case, especially if Ferreira is reappointed to prosecute the case," Masuku said.

He asked former Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, who is chairing the inquiry, to ask the NPA to release its decision on whether Jiba's case will be re-enrolled. 

After an adjournment to discuss the way forward, Mokgoro instructed the evidence team and Jiba's legal representatives to submit heads of argument on why Ferreira should or should not be allowed to testify and also to ascertain the status of the Jiba case with the NPA.