The government is considering opening a specialised court to fast track criminal cases emanating from the state capture report as it seeks to convince a sceptical public that it is serious about enforcing accountability and entrenching the rule of law.
Speaking to Business Day on Monday, justice minister Ronald Lamola pleaded for South Africans to give the government a chance. People have increasingly lost faith after the failure to successfully prosecute high-profile corruption since Cyril Ramaphosa rose to the presidency in 2018 promising a new start from the era of corruption-tainted Jacob Zuma.
Confidence has been further dented after mobs, presumed to be Zuma supporters, plunged the country into its worst post-apartheid violence in July 2021, leading to more than 300 deaths and billions of rand of losses.
“We are saying to the people of the country that they need to give us a chance,” Lamola said. “It is not just tough talk against corruption. We are concerned about these attacks, which are undermining democracy. Investigations must clearly show whether these are deliberate.”
With the state having only managed to freeze the assets of some of those accused of fraud and corruption in the Free State, Transnet and Eskom, many of those facing charges after being implicated by the Zondo commission have sought to mobilise public support in defence of themselves by attacking the judiciary, in an apparent attempt to evade the rule of law.
Other interventions touted by the justice minister include the establishment of a crack team of investigators and prosecutors — much like the Scorpions, which was disbanded during Zuma’s time in office, a move that drew allegations that it was aimed at shielding ANC leaders accused of corruption. The Directorate of Special Operations acted against high-profile politicians such as Zuma and former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.
Business Day reported in August 2020 that Lamola was one of the main drivers behind an ANC call for the government to look into “a permanent multidisciplinary agency to deal with all cases of white-collar crime, organised crime and corruption”. That came as the party was stung by public outrage over corruption relating to relief funds to deal with the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision to disband the Scorpions was taken at the 2007 conference, which elected Zuma as president of the party.
Confidence in law enforcement was further shaken late in 2021 with the resignation of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Investigating Directorate boss Hermione Cronje, highlighting long-running complaints about its capacity.
Replacing Cronje is a high priority, Lamola said, while also defending the unit’s work since it was formed in April 2019.
“We have not ignored any request for financial or human resource capacity. It was a unit created from scratch. From not one person to a complement of over 100 staff, that process took time. The [Investigating Directorate] was always a temporary intervention; we think a permanent structure may organically grow out of it. There is obviously a need,” Lamola said.
A dedicated court would scupper prospects of a protracted legal battle by those trying to evade prosecution through multiple postponements in existing courts, which are already overburdened.
Lamola said he cannot get involved in cases, because that would be political interference, but he has prioritised any NPA request for assistance. The Investigating Directorate’s work would soon yield results and SA is working with international security agencies to ensure those who fled the country will not avoid prosecution.
National director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi in December sought to reassure parliament’s justice & correctional services committee that Cronje’s departure will not affect the NPA’s ability to cope with the additional cases.
“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,” she said.
The state capture commission’s work focused on how coffers were looted during Zuma’s term. It recommended criminal charges against alleged key players in the project, including former SAA chair Dudu Myeni and Tom Moyane, who was handpicked by Zuma to lead the SA Revenue Service.
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