"The committees will, in consultation with the Parliament's legal service unit, decide tomorrow whether to subpoena Mr Jooste and will inform the speaker's office of their decision," the committees' chairs said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The lawyers believed that, because Jooste would "probably be prosecuted with regard to the Steinhoff matter", appearing before the committees to be questioned would undermine his right to a fair trial. Steinhoff International shares plunged at the end of 2017 after the company's auditors refused to sign off on its latest financial statements and its chief executive resigned.