Daily Dispatch

Nel a true pro, but reputation in danger from AfriForum link

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MUCH has already been said and written about the resignatio­n of star prosecutor Gerrie Nel from the National Prosecutin­g Authority to join forces with the controvers­ial self-styled “civil rights” group AfriForum.

Some, if not most, have expressed a deep sense of disappoint­ment that Nel – who endeared himself to South Africans of all hues because of his profession­al and no-holds barred approach in the courtroom – would associate himself with such a problemati­c grouping.

Others have bemoaned the fact that the standing of the NPA has been further eroded by the loss of such a significan­t figure.

Let’s face it, Nel’s departure from the prosecutin­g body is not something to be ignored. Nel was synonymous with the NPA.

As South Africans who care about the state of our criminal justice system, our hope for the NPA lay, to a great extent, in Nel’s presence there – that he would continue to be some kind of antidote against the corroding effect of the compromise­d national director of public prosecutio­ns Shaun Abrahams and his dodgy deputy, Nomgcobo Jiba. This hope has now been shattered. Some have suggested that the situation within the NPA had become untenable for Nel.

He has been a target inside his own organisati­on and may now also have

Ink By The Barrel

or cause that he feels strongly about – as long as it is legal.

AfriForum, whether one likes them or not, has a constituti­onal right to exist.

What matters more to me is how he performed as a prosecutor and whether he was profession­al and fair, in spite of any ideologica­l leanings.

Hard-hitting and unflinchin­g in his approach, Nel built a reputation as a true profession­al with a fine legal mind.

There are some who now accuse him of harbouring racist views and targeting certain individual­s in the cases he prosecuted. But his prosecutor­ial history paints a different picture.

He was the young prosecutor who, at 32, successful­ly sent Chris Hani’s killers, Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walus, to jail for their crimes.

His pursuit and successful conviction of Jackie Selebi, then the national commission­er of the SA Police Service, for corruption inked his name into the history books.

The Oscar Pistorius trial – as humongous as it was locally and internatio­nally – was merely the cherry on top of an illustriou­s career.

In all his cases, both friends and critics agree, Nel showed himself to be a true profession­al, pursuing justice without any fear or favour.

Granted, one would be naive to believe any person is ever capable of being truly objective without any inherent biases and prejudices.

But unlike his colleagues in the NPA who have allowed themselves to be political players in an elaborate chess game, aimed at capturing all levers of the state – Nel has remained true to his profession­al calling.

He endeared himself to South Africans because he has been a principled, impeccably thorough prosecutor.

Going forward Nel must, as constituti­onal law expert Professor Pierre de Vos so eloquently put it, be aware of the limitation­s of the private prosecutio­ns unit he is to set up at AfriForum.

While Section 7 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) allows for private prosecutio­ns, it is explicit that only private persons (whose rights or personal dignity has been infringed) and statutory bodies can pursue private prosecutio­ns.

Organisati­ons like AfriForum cannot. And where they can, on behalf of someone, the scope is limited.

So it will be interestin­g to see which cases Nel pursues and the justificat­ion thereof.

AfriForum has shown itself to be an opponent of transforma­tion and redress in post-apartheid South Africa.

Whatever choices Nel makes going forward, one can only hope that he ensures his associatio­n with AfriForum does not sully his otherwise excellent reputation – if it has not done so already.

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