NPA admits not many serious graft cases made it to trial for 10 years

A high-ranking official in the NPA has made the shocking admission that many “serious corruption cases” haven’t been brought to trial in the past decade.

With South Africans baying to see the corrupt in orange overalls, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate (ID) head, Hermione Cronjé, said they first needed to fix a broken organisation.

“In the last 10 years, we haven’t done that many serious corruption cases,” Cronjé told the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services, saying there were not enough prosecutors in the NPA to take on complex, high-level corruption cases.

The ID was established less than a year ago, and was set up to prosecute “complex, high-profile serious corruption” to ensure accountability for state capture.

Cronjé and Batohi appeared before the committee on Wednesday, with an NPA delegation, to discuss the organisation’s performance from April to December 2019.

Batohi did not sugarcoat the situation, saying they were not happy with their performance.

She said there was a “leadership crisis in the NPA”, but there were “very good prosecutors, working extremely hard”.

“Even though it is grinding, the wheels are turning.”

The NPA received an increased budget allocation and, towards the end of last year, went on a recruitment drive, with 921 posts being advertised. Of these, 155 have already been filled, while the others are being processed.

Batohi said morale among prosecutors was also improving.

She added when she joined, she found a dysfunctional organisation, saying the ID had spent its first six months trying to bring cases to court to make an immediate impact.

“What I learned from the first six months is, there is no quick fix,” Cronjé said.”We had to recognise [that] unless we solve a couple of critical issues, we’re not going to make progress.”

Cronjé added most of the dockets which found their way to the ID, had not exposed those who were responsible for the corruption, with only low-level roleplayers being implicated.

“To prosecute a high-level politician or businessman … you’re not going to find a smoking gun.”

She said criminals made use of highly sophisticated electronic methods and they needed electronic capabilities, adding she did not need a prosecutor who could underline suspect transactions with a ruler in a ledger, she needed a prosecutor who could code.

Cronjé made it clear she was aware of the pressure to see crooks in jail.

She said she was afraid to leave her home as she would be asked when there would be arrests, but she also feared staying at home as her own family had the same questions.

“This work has to be done. It needs to be done properly. The expectation is so high. We are there, we are crossing the Ts. It’s imminent.”

Cronjé said international cooperation remained a problem as the money, suspects and evidence were currently abroad.

She added they were working with the Department of Justice to come up with a strategy to deal with this.

Regarding the controversial Estina dairy farm case, Cronjé said they needed to get evidence from abroad, but there was a “lack of international assistance”.

She added they have prepared two indictments, one with evidence, one without. “Some countries are not honouring treaties.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.