The “avalanche” of state seizure cases National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said last year that she was preparing is beginning to fall fast and thick. Her mounting workload comes in the wake of the publication of the findings of the coup inquiry committee, chaired by acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. And while she and her team now face the mammoth task of what — and who — to pursue, anti-corruption lobbyists say they need to start small. Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) chief executive Wayne Duvenage said on Wednesday, “The first thing I would do…
The “avalanche” of state seizure cases National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said last year that she was preparing is beginning to fall fast and thick.
Her mounting workload comes in the wake of the publication of the findings of the coup inquiry committee, chaired by acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
And while she and her team now face the mammoth task of what — and who — to pursue, anti-corruption lobbyists say they need to start small.
Organization that undoes tax abuse (Outa) chief executive Wayne Duvenage said on Wednesday: “The first thing I would do is go after the low-hanging fruit.
“There are some very clear cases. And you don’t have to find 100 loads to throw at someone, you just need one or two to get them in the dock and behind bars. That is what South Africans want to see: people behind bars.”
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This could lead to people like former Minister and Gauteng Prime Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, who have received “satisfaction”, as well as former senior gentlemen Linda Mti and Patrick Gillingham of the Department of Correctional Services, Deputy Defense Minister and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla and former chairman of the Jacob Zuma Foundation Dudu Myeni – all of whom Zondo found at first glance to have cases against them – in the firing line.
At a briefing in September, Batohi said her office was already expecting an “avalanche” of business and had made corruption a top priority.
However, they should be “strategic” in terms of the things they ultimately pursued against the background of the limited resources they had. Outa’s Rudi Heineke said President Cyril Ramaphosa must take immediate action against those implicated in the Zondo report who still held high positions in the executive branch and government.
“The time to get the country ahead of the ANC has been far too late,” Heineke said.
Accountability Now Paul Hoffman, the lead attorney and legal expert, took a more arbitrary approach, urging authorities not to pick cases.
“What should happen, if there is equality in the courts, as the Constitution says there should be, is that anyone who has their finger on the pulse should be investigated and anyone who has a reasonable chance of being If he is found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he should be put in the dock to stand trial,” he said.
However, he believed that the National Prosecutor (NPA) was “innately unable” to do the job assigned to her by the Zondo Commission.
“What needs to happen is reform of the criminal justice administration system to enable them,” he said.
The NPA was not currently in a position to assemble the “army of prosecutors,” which Zondo previously indicated would be necessary to further develop its findings.
“It’s been eroded and under-resourced because of the coup,” he said.
What was needed now was a new body with adequate resources and specialized recruits who had the tenure they needed to do their job independently.
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