OPINION | NPA is one of the weak links in the criminal justice system

An efficient, ethical and independent prosecutorial authority is essential in any democracy.

The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) leaves much to be desired. Its ranks were decimated during the state capture years when many powerful and crooked politicians had a vested interest in its failure.

In April, national director of public prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, said in an interview that the NPA’s comeback after state capture had “been nothing short of remarkable”.

There can be no doubt that there are competent and dedicated prosecutors who have chosen the NPA as their career path. But, it makes little difference when there are others that are clearly not up to the requirements of the job.

Two recently highly publicised cases in the Eastern Cape make it abundantly clear that the NPA is one of the weak links in the criminal justice system.

The first is the infamous rape, sexual assault and human trafficking trial of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused. The other is the corruption and fraud trial of former Buffalo City metro director Wendy Maqekeza-Galada and others.

All the accused were acquitted after heinously long trials.

Maqekeza-Galada’s case was drawn out for more than 12 years. So long did it take that the main witness died and the paper trail was compromised. In fact, national NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali admits that “key original documents, such as bank statements with bank account numbers had faded and were not admissible in court” due to the length of time it took. In the meantime Maqekeza-Galada’s assets have been frozen or seized by the state. She has indicated she intends suing the state and BCM.

The Omotoso trial was a prosecutorial disaster from the beginning right up to its shattering conclusion.

It is not fair on the accused, the victims or witnesses when the NPA fails to do its job properly.

Gqeberha high court judge Irma Schoeman indicated that while she believed the victim witnesses, the case had been royally bungled by the prosecution which failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. Again, the trial was drawn out for almost eight years.

The judge specifically criticised the state’s poor quality cross-examination of witnesses, particularly Omotoso. She said it had been “desultory, shallow and lacking the intention to uncover the truth”.

Most damming of all is that the prosecutor admitted under oath that he did not know that digital penetration of the genitalia constituted rape. The judge said it was “inconceivable” that a prosecutor with 14 years’ experience did not know what the definition of rape was and said he was either “extremely incompetent or dishonest”.

It is not fair on the accused, the victims or witnesses when the NPA fails to do its job properly.

Despite her claims to the contrary, Batohi’s strategies to turn it into a lean, mean efficient machine has a long way to go.

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