‘Don’t tell us about dangerous narratives’: NPA told to convict state capture, corruption enablers

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faced a tough crowd in Parliament on Wednesday as officials from the institution provided an update on the progress made on state capture and corruption related cases.

The NPA briefed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on matters emanating from the State Capture Commission of Inquiry.

‘No blueprint for successful prosecutions’

Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (DNDPP) Rodney de Kock told the committee significant progress was being made in pursuing state capture and corruption matters

De Kock said the NPA’s Investigative Directorate (ID) has declared 99 investigations, while 34 cases, involving 205 accused persons, have been enrolled.

“The SCCU [Specialised Commercial Crime Unit] and our DPPs in the regions have enrolled 79 cases, involving 363 accused. These are matters in relation to serious corruption. They are matters that are more than just dealing with the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, but also state capture,” the NPA deputy head said.

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In addition, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and its partners have secured freezing/preservation orders valued at R12.4 billon.

Recoveries to the value of R5.4 billion, including the R2.5 billion Swiss engineering company Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) has agreed to pay, have been made.

De Kock said the State Capture Commission’s findings did not necessarily provide the blueprint for successful prosecutions.

“The test in a criminal court is of the far more onerous nature,” he said.

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The DNDPP said the NPA had prioritised cases that will “deliver the most impact”.

“From our point of view, the message we want to send is to instill confidence within the public sphere, so that South Africans know work is happening. So through that, we have to look at the volumes of cases that we have and the volumes of investigations that we have to do to see how best we can manage that work in order for our cases to be enrolled as speedily as possible and for investigations to be finalised,” De Kock continued.

He further said that once the ID was made a permanent structure, many more cases would be enrolled in the new year to deal with the backlog on the court roll.

Summary of asset recoveries pre ad post-Zondo Commission Report pic.twitter.com/ksEFWkme9z

— NPASouthAfrica (@NPA_Prosecutes) November 21, 2023

‘Achieve convictions’

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Glynnis Breytenbach noted that while assets has been frozen and some funds have been recovered, it was not enough to “pop the champagne just yet” considering the amount of money that has been lost in the grand scheme of things.

“I think that South Africans would generally prefer to see people being held accountable, not so much of money being recovered, they want to see people being convicted and going to prison,” she said.

According to the Zondo Commission, more than R72 billion was disbursed by government departments and institutions to Gupta-owned entities during the state capture era.

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Breytenbach also commented on De Kock saying the notion that the NPA was not doing anything about state capture and corruption was “wrong and dangerous”.

“We see that they are making inroads, but to say it’s a dangerous narrative, the NPA has itself to thank for that. The way to stop that narrative is to achieve convictions. Arrest people who are responsible for these crimes, prosecute them successfully and send them to prison and then that narrative will die all by itself.

“They don’t even have to do all of the cases, I can tell you one or two big matters successfully prosecuted quieten your critics quite considerably. Don’t tell us about dangerous narratives, spend your time getting convictions,” the DA MP continued.

She added that the two convictions were “not even close to enough”.

Watch the meeting below:

African National Congress (ANC) MP Qubudile Dyantyi said he was of the view that the NPA’s presentation lacked answers in some aspects and the institution needed to address its challenges.

“The last thing we want is for you to come and present a diagnosis to this committee of the kind of things you are dealing with which show in the main more problems then how you’re succeeding in the solutions,” he said.

Dyantyi also expressed concern over the backlog of cases on the court rolls.

“It’s like you put everything into a funnel but nothing comes out of it and unless you open that up you not might even reach your targets. You have not shared with us what is the alternative plan to deal with that court roll congestion.”

‘A crime is a crime’

Meanwhile, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane said it was “embarrassing” court cases were being delayed due to incomplete investigations.

“Why rush to arrest, and a person is appearing before court, then you find the matter is dragging for two or three years without the person being charged. I think that as well taints the image [of the NPA],” the former public protector said.

Mkhwebane cited the Nulane Investments case, where all the accused were acquitted of their charges, as an example of the NPA moving with urgent haste to prosecute matters.

She also said it was concerning because it seemed as if the NPA was letting ABB off the hook despite it being implicated in corruption and state capture.

“A crime is a crime and you are saying we are not prosecuting you,” Mkhwebane said.

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