‘Former ministers and ex-president not small fish’: NPA denies claims it’s not tackling state capture

National Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shamila Batohi has dismissed the notion that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has failed to institute legal proceedings against major players involved in state capture.

On Wednesday, the NPA presented its 2022/2023 annual report to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services.

‘New heights’

During the meeting, Batohi told the committee the NPA has made “important strides” in rebuilding the institution over the last few years.

“The various initiatives that we have taken have enabled us to reach solid ground from a very shaky start and to further reach for new heights during this past financial year,” she said on Wednesday.

Batohi highlighted that the NPA has been on an upward performance trajectory for the last three years despite handling more than 650,000 cases each year countrywide.

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“We are confident in the further progress that we are making and our ability to deliver for greater impact.

“The path to here has been extremely challenging and we don’t expect it to get easier, but we remain confident that the strategy we have developed for the NPA has placed us on the right path, and we are seeing positive results with each passing year.

“Building a sustainable organisation has required the NPA to adopt key innovative strategic initiatives as part of our strategy,” she told the committee.

‘Wrong, dangerous’

Batohi revealed that the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) has, at this stage, declared 99 investigations and enrolled 34 cases involving 205 accused persons on state capture and corruption-related matters.

“The focus has not only been on getting perpetrators to wear orange overalls but also on following the money and hitting criminals where it hurts them most.”

The NPA head also pointed out that the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and its partners have secured preservation orders to the value of R14 billion, while the recoveries stood at R5.4 billion.

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She dispelled the narrative that the NPA was not doing anything about state capture, saying it was “wrong and dangerous”.

“We are one of the few democracies in the world that is prosecuting former ministers; the former SG [secretary-general] of the ruling party; a former president of our country; and also some of the most powerful CEOs and private sector actors in the country.

“This cannot, by any measure, be regarded as small fish, although we appreciate that too many architects of state capture remain unaccountable, and there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” Batohi told the committee.

Watch the meeting below:

‘NPA cannot afford mistakes’

Batohi further said she believed the “wheel of justices was turning in terms of enrolments” since several arrests were made.

“It’s important for the public and the committee to understand that criminal prosecutions require patience, good preparation and sure certainty. We are grateful for the work of the Zondo Commission, which shone a light on the ravages of state capture [such as] who was involved, the amounts of it cost, the damage caused, et cetera.

“However, we must remember that the commission does not provide a blueprint for the successful prosecution of cases.

READ MORE: NPA expands capacity to tackle state capture, corruption cases

“Obtaining convictions in high-profile and complex corruption prosecutions is a different matter, with an onerous standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” the NPA head continued.

She said the NPA would not be pressured into solving cases by the public or the media.

“This is when mistakes happen, which the NPA cannot afford. We will only proceed when we are satisfied with reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution.”

Meanwhile, Batohi added that the NPA was in the final stages of developing a “focused strategy” to deal with organised crime and have South Africa removed from the grey list “as soon as possible”.