NPA bares its teeth at last

LINE-UP: PROSECUTION OF ESTINA AND CRIME INTELLIGENCE BOSS FIRST

Prosecution of Estina and crime intelligence boss first, it says.

NPA says its poised to put high-profile cases in court but can’t give details yet.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is readying to take more corruption and state capture cases to court in addition to those of the Estina dairy farm project and former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli.

These two cases were being processed in order to bring them before the courts.

NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said yesterday the NPA was poised to tackle a number of other high-profile cases, but declined to give details. “There will be, that’s for sure, but as to who and when, we cannot say at the moment,” Makeke said.

She added that the Estina and Mdluli matters were being processed and prepared to go to court, and after all evidence had been collected they would be put on the court roll.

This week the NPA’s investigative directorate head advocate Hermione Cronje announced that both the Estina case and the matter of former crime intelligence boss Mdluli were going back to court as sufficient evidence had been gathered.

Cronje said that in the Estina matter they were waiting for some evidence from the United Arab Emirates where the Gupta brothers are said to be living and once they received it they would enrol the matter.

National director of public prosecutions advocate Shamila Batohi said Mdluli would also be prosecuted, but first they had to apply for the declassification of some documents that would help with the case against him.

National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole had agreed to the declassification of the documents to assist in Mdluli’s prosecution.

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard that

Mdluli had looted the intelligence secret service slush funds for security upgrades, overseas trips and to buy vehicles.

Charges of fraud, theft and corruption emanating from the allegations that he faced were withdrawn in 2011 amid a public outcry.

In the Estina matter, Free State provincial government officials and the Guptas were allegedly linked to corruption in the looting of funds from the project meant to uplift 100 black emergent farms in the Vrede area.

The commission was told that the dairy project stopped when National Treasury pulled the plug and instructed the agriculture department to withhold a R53 million grant to the Free State government for the project.

This was after the province could not provide a feasibility study, business plan or water-use licence.

This week Cronje also indicated the NPA was looking at charging perpetrators of crimes that took place during the apartheid era and outstanding cases of violent crimes, such as murder and sexual crimes, as well as cyber-crimes.

Regarding corruption prosecutions emanating from the commission, Batohi said while the NPA understood that prosecuting corruption cases would rebuild confidence in society, there were other cases they had to attend to first.

“We understand the impact the NPA will make with a few focused prosecutions, but there is still murder, sexual crimes and cybercrimes.

“Another important area for us is the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) cases.

“We are working very closely with families who lost loved ones, we are looking at how to utilise the legal framework to even charge apartheid as a crime against humanity.”

Batohi, who has been under pressure to produce results, was a senior legal advisor at the International Criminal Court before she was appointed as national director of public prosecutions in February.

Another important area for us are the TRC cases