The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has tasked senior prosecutors with driving cases against alleged instigators of the public violence and looting which began in KwaZulu-Natal and spread to Gauteng last week.
On Wednesday, parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services raised questions about the work of the courts, NPA and SA Police Service (SAPS) to arrest those responsible for stoking the unrest during which at least 215 people died. The committee heard police have arrested more than 3,400 suspects, of whom 1,700 were in custody.
Advocate Shamila Batohi, the national director of public prosecutions, listed the various categories of perpetrators identified in the civil unrest which closed down the biggest commercial port in Africa, and cost the country billions of rand in damages. The NPA and police are working to bring to book individual looters, those in possession of stolen goods, organised criminals and instigators.
Batohi said: “As we move up the chain, together with SAPS, we really have to be relentless in ensuring that our co-ordination is very clear, and that we bring to book those most responsible for what has happened in our country.” The NPA would “follow the evidence” only and serve the people of SA, not political factions.
Deputy national director of public prosecutions advocate Rodney de Kok described the softer approach the NPA would follow for the “lower” categories of offenders, where warranted. Individual looters would have access to the state-funded service Legal Aid SA, he noted. De Kok said the NPA’s most skilled prosecutors, with training in organised and priority crime, were assigned to the most serious cases.
He reported that in KwaZulu-Natal the looting and unrest in mid-July disrupted the courts’ work. He said in that province 170 new cases with 190 accused were enrolled the week of July 7; 618 cases with 1,249 accused were enrolled the week of July 12; and, as at Wednesday July 21 the courts had enrolled 69 new cases with 110 accused. While all these matters are not unrest-related most are: in 10 days the KwaZulu-Natal courts enrolled 856 cases with 1,549 suspects.
De Kok described those who stole goods and property in large quantities as criminals “by nature” who seized the opportunity to commit crime for profit. “We must not be afraid to call it out for what it is: it is crime, it is organised, and where we find that syndicates have been in operation here we will charge people with racketeering and […] people can get life imprisonment for these kind of offences.”
He was hard hitting about offences the NPA saw as most egregious, inciting the devastating and lawless chaos.
“The state will not hesitate to prosecute,” De Kok said of crimes including sedition and high treason. The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act 33 of 2004 legislates antiterrorism measures. “I think we need to understand the seriousness of all of this,” he warned.
Justice, constitutional development & correctional services minister Ronald Lamola said violent acts such as burning key national sites, disrupting economic activity, blocking national motorways and stemming the supply of basic goods including foodstuffs and medicine “falls squarely within the parameters” of the terrorism legislation.
He said the justice department’s task team met daily. It comprises the justice and prisons departments, NPA, Legal Aid SA, and SAPS. The team’s priorities are analysing statistics on the administration of justice related to the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and fixing problems as they arise.
“To date, a total of 1,498 remanded detainees have been admitted in our facilities. Our facilities are stretched due to overcrowding. Our challenges are also exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Lamola.
The justice department’s director-general, advocate Jacob Skosana, said courts in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng established specialist rolls to exclusively handle cases related to the riots. “The case starts and continues every day until an end, without it being postponed,” he said.
Batohi said regrettably the NPA was working in a politicised environment, and the body must safeguard against involvement in political or factional battles. She insisted the NPA’s work was to assess evidence, dispassionately decide on prosecutions, and prosecute no matter who was implicated by the proof.
“We’re really trying very hard to stay out of all these factional battles and very politicised environment so that we can do our work,” said Batohi.
She concluded with the Latin maxim “fiat justitia ruat caelum” which means let justice be done though the heavens fall.
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