The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) — whose failure to mount a single successful corruption prosecution since a change of leadership in 2019 is receiving renewed attention — will also have to deal with an "avalanche" of cases from the state capture inquiry.
The commission of inquiry, chaired by acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, heard testimony of wide-scale corruption and looting during the almost decade-long Jacob Zuma presidency. It has a deadline to hand over its final report at the end of 2021.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will get the report at a time when the NPA, whose clean-up and strengthening was one of his main priorities when he took over in 2018, is reeling from the early resignation of Hermione Cronje, the head of its Investigating Directorate (ID).
After a decade in which the Zuma administration actively gutted the institution, the NPA was left with too few experienced prosecutors and investigators — a shortage of resources that has inhibited its ability to tackle high-profile cases, often against opponents allegedly armed with the proceeds of the plunder of state resources.
National director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi on Wednesday sought to reassure parliament’s justice & correctional services committee that Cronje’s departure in three months will not affect the NPA’s ability to cope with the additional cases. She also gave an update on the progress made in prosecuting cases referred by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in particular the Cradock Four.
"We are not going to be able to deal with everything that comes through from the Zondo commission," she said.
"We are going to have to strategically prioritise cases for impact, and sequence cases because we are not going to have all of the resources to deal with all of the issues."
The ID has 120 staff members, which it expects to increase to 200 in 2022, and its budget of R107m is projected to grow to about R180m. It has also begun taking on some of the resources that were dedicated to the Zondo commission.
The transition phase ahead of Cronje’s departure will be led by deputy national director Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, who also leads the Asset Forfeiture Unit, ensuring that there would be no leadership gap, Batohi said.
She once again insisted that Cronje’s departure does not represent a crisis for the NPA or the ID, both of which have seen public confidence wane as prosecutions of alleged state capturers failed to materialise and executives fingered for corruption that floored state-owned enterprises such as Transnet, Eskom and SAA evade justice.
"After a challenging first start-up phase, advocate Cronje leaves the ID well positioned to deliver on its important mandate. There is confidence, given all the groundwork that has been done, that its work will continue unaffected in the coming months."
Justice & correctional services minister Ronald Lamola said that while the departure of Cronje is a setback, he is hopeful that those who remain at the ID will continue with preparations based on the evidence submitted to the commission. The complexity of the issues will require a well-capacitated and well-resourced ID.
He noted that the digital forensic laboratory from the Zondo commission is being migrated to the ID, which will also receive information from it.
With regard to TRC cases that had still not been finalised 27 years after the dawn of democracy, Lamola said he was looking for a retired judge to investigate the interference of the executive in investigations related to the TRC. He hopes to make an appointment before the end of December. Former Constitutional Court judge Kate O’ Regan was approached, but she was unavailable due to academic commitments. Discussions are under way with another judge.
A total of 40 investigators and 25 prosecutors have been or will be appointed to deal specifically with TRC cases.
The NPA missed the December 2 deadline stipulated by the court to make a decision on the case of the Cradock Four — Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli — who were murdered by apartheid police. This followed the application to court by the families of the four.
Referring to the lack of progress in TRC cases, committee member Qubudile Dyantyi said the NPA had been "caught with its pants down".
Batohi agreed that this state of affairs was unacceptable.
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