Arrests by Hawks cause for cheer

There was plenty of cynicism in the air yesterday following the high-profile arrests, by the Hawks, of those linked to corruption and tender rigging involving the Bosasa group of companies. There were many who wondered why these were the “only” people arrested and wondered whether the “real culprits”, or those high in government, would ever be brought to book. There was also concern about whether the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) would be able to bring about successful convictions.

The situation is that the arrests were related to a previous probe by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is almost a decade old and relates to dodgy dealings in the correctional services department. This means that there could well be more arrests – and of a wider group of people – because of the evidence of the Bosasa state capture network which has been emerging at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

It is significant that the arrests and prosecutions have been launched within days of Shamila Batohi taking over as the new head of the NPA. The previous NPA hierarchy sat on this particular SIU investigation (and probably many besides) for many years.

It is hoped that Batohi’s energy in bringing convictions is eventually matched by diligence by her staff in putting cases together, so the nation will not again have the unedifying spectacle of cases being withdrawn against state capture suspects – as happened with Duduzane Zuma and Gupta cronies in the Estina Dairy case.

The timing of the arrests is also deliberate: President Cyril Ramaphosa can bask in the judicial halo as he delivers the State of the Nation address in Cape Town today.

The long arm of the law is, finally, stretching out. And that is something to celebrate.