A national embarrassment? ‘Scorpions 2.0' bill pitched to save failing NPA
National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shamila Batohi during a media briefing in Silverton where she introduced the new Investigating director at the NPA head office on Friday, 24 May 2019. Picture: Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe
Lawyers for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are under scrutiny for their inability to secure convictions in high-profile cases.
The NPA has failed to secure court victories and convictions in several major cases, including controversial Nigerian Pastor Timothy Omotoso's rape case, and other prominent cases linked to ANC politicians and State Capture.
In 2024, former prosecutor and now DA parliamentarian Glynnis Breytenbach proposed a set of reforms aimed at bolstering successful prosecutions.
This includes introducing a 'Scorpions 2.0' bill, which is expected to establish an independent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
This commission will have the power to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption, free from political interference.
The DA also wants to amend the constitution to ensure the head of the NPA is appointed by parliament and not the president.
'I did not expect that there would be a huge appetite for this bill, for obvious reasons. But I believe it is the only solution to the current problem.
'To rebuild, the NPA is going to take 20 years. We cannot wait 20 years for these prosecutions to take place; to fill up an anti-corruption commission with competent staff would be much easier,' said Breytenbach.
Breytenbach believes that other problems that plague the NPA include budget cuts, which limit the organisation's ability to do its work.
'If you do not have a budget, it becomes difficult and then impossible to prosecute these cases in court, and that is why we see these debacles in court because there has not been sufficient consultation with subject-matter experts,' she said.
Sabotage in the NPA?
On Thursday, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi expressed concern about the NPA's inability to deliver successful prosecutions.
'That actually makes me worry sometimes, that the NPA is actually being infiltrated by people who do not have the rule of law at heart.
'I do not sleep comfortably at night because of that, not because I think the NPA is a failing organisation,' she said.
Breytenbach said she believes that Batohi has done her best and cannot be completely blamed for all the failures in prosecutions.
She said some of the bad elements in the ranks of the NPA are known, but there seems to be no political will to root them out.
'We all know who they are. She (Batohi) has not managed to get rid of all of them either because she has not tried, but some of them we know that she has tried, and she has been hampered in the process,' she said.
ALSO READ: NPA 'taken aback' over Moroadi Cholota extradition ruling, hints at appeal
NPA a haven for politically connected?
ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip stated that the NPA has become a haven for the politically connected.
'It has become a place where accountability is avoided, justice is delayed, and prosecutions collapse with shocking regularity.
'Under Shamila Batohi's leadership, the NPA reels from one scandal to the next.
'South Africans are left wondering if these failures are merely a result of incompetence, or is there a deliberate agenda to protect the corrupt?' he said.
NOW READ: NPA 'infiltrated by those against the rule of law' – Batohi says
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