Old guard at NPA not into being changed
All is still not well at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), despite attempts to clear the rot by appointing a new national director of public prosecutions, who has promised not to be swayed by politics and to restore the credibility of the organisation.
Changing the head of the NPA is not enough, as President Cyril Ramaphosa is finding out. Business Day reported this week that the president has had to go to court to defend his right to reverse the appointments by his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, of five of the most powerful officials at the NPA.
Former deputy national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba, seen to have been Zuma’s right hand, is trying to overturn Ramaphosa’s decision to axe her.
The president is also in court defending his decision to reverse the appointment of Ron Simphiwe Mncwabe as Northern Cape director of public prosecutions, and of former acting head of the controversial priority crimes litigation unit, Torie Pretorius. Zuma signed off their postings just days before he was forced to step down in February 2018.
Presidency director-general Cassius Lubisi has revealed that Ramaphosa made the decision on Mncwabe, Pretorius and prosecutor Raymond Mathenjwa after seeking legal advice from advocate Wim Trengove. Pretorius was the man who made the decision in 2016 to prosecute then finance minister Pravin Gordhan over the early retirement granted to then SA Revenue Service (Sars) deputy commissioner, Ivan Pillay. This decision was reversed by former national director of public prosecutions Shaun Abrahams two weeks after it was made.
While testifying at the state capture commission of inquiry earlier in 2019, former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen singled out prosecutors at the NPA whom he said played a role in pursuing public officials for unwarranted reasons, or for allowing legitimate criminal cases to be withdrawn, according to Daily Maverick. Among those he named was Pretorius.
Pretorius also had a hand in the bid to prosecute former Hawks boss Anwa Dramat and Gauteng Hawks boss Shadrack Sibiya in the Zimbabwe renditions case. Mathenjwa was the prosecutor brought in to pursue former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach.
During the interview process for national director of public prosecutions in 2018, the factional divides within the NPA were laid bare, as was how the NPA was infiltrated. So although there is a new head, some of those who were seen to be part of the faction aligned to the Zuma administration and who were given prominent NPA positions when it was seen as being politically abused, are still there fighting for their jobs.
The NPA is not the only organisation experiencing this fightback; the same is happening at Sars, which, like the prosecuting authority, was decimated under Zuma. Those who were seen to be part of the problem at these institutions now seem prepared to fight to the bitter end.
Some of these people ruined good careers by ingratiating themselves with those in power at the time. They are so compromised they will probably be unemployable if they are forced to leave. But the cleanup Ramaphosa promised when he came into office after Zuma’s removal cannot be fully realised until all those who had participated are gone.
The president can count his lucky stars that his predecessor acted with impunity and did not follow due process when making appointments witness the unlawful settlement with former NPA head Mxolisi Nxasana. This was taken on review in court and led to the national director of public prosecutions position, then held by Abrahams, being declared vacant in 2018, which gave Ramaphosa the chance to appoint Shamila Batohi.
He now also has the opportunity to fill the position opened up by the retirement of former deputy Silas Ramaite at the beginning of September. This critical post has not yet been filled, which is significant as it is the first position available among the four deputies in close to a decade, and can be used to appoint someone who has Batohi’s back.
This is paramount, especially since the fightback at the NPA seems to be in full swing, with rumours already surfacing that Batohi, the woman entrusted with cleaning up, is not all she is made out to be. Some in the organisation are gunning for her. She has been the victim of disinformation, with her name included in a list circulated on Twitter of judges alleged to have been paid by Ramaphosa’s 2017 ANC presidency campaign.
These distractions occur while SA waits with bated breath for the NPA to do its job and start prosecuting those implicated in allegations of state capture. One can only hope that the internal NPA dynamics will not stymie the important work that needs to be done.
THOSE WHO WERE SEEN TO BE PART OF THE PROBLEM AT THESE INSTITUTIONS NOW SEEM PREPARED TO FIGHT TO THE BITTER END
● Quintal is political editor