AfriForum has instituted legal action to privately prosecute Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba on charges of fraud and perjury.

The lobby group made the announcement at a media conference in Centurion on Thursday morning.

Jiba is still on special leave from her position as deputy national director of public prosecutions.

The private prosecution is on behalf of former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head General Johan Booysen.

AfriForum's Kallie Kriel said Booysen was targeted unlawfully by Jiba after he started investigating the business operations of Thoshan Panday, a close business associate of President Jacob Zuma.

Last year Jiba and her colleague Lawrence Mrwebi, were struck off the roll of advocates of the General Council of the Bar of SA.

News24 reported that this was over their handling of the case against former crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli.

However, Jiba and Mrwebi were granted leave to appeal the decision in January this year, and the following month Zuma decided not to suspend her or to institute a commission of inquiry into her conduct.

A date has yet to be set by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Kriel on Thursday also said they had filed a letter, signed by Booysen, asking the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a nolle prosequi certificate that will allow AfriForum to privately prosecute Jiba.

"Litigation can be expensive. I'm grateful AfriForum has come to [my] aid," Booysen said at the briefing.

He said he would "most definitely'' consider instituting legal action against NPA head Shaun Abrahams.

NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku told News24 that it would comment on the matter once AfriForum obtained the nolle prosequi certificate.

In October, AfriForum's private prosecuting unit announced that the first person they would be prosecuting is Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, for culpable homicide in the death of Phumzile Dube who was killed in February 2014 after Duduzane's Porsche collided with the taxi in which she was travelling.

In August 2015, the NPA decided not to prosecute the president's son after Magistrate Lalitha Chetty had found during a formal judicial inquest into the death that there was prima facie evidence that Dube's death had been caused by the younger Zuma's negligent actions.