New appointments to beef up NPA

Advocates De Kock, Mhaga, Rasethaba join prosecuting authority

A FORMER advocate with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), who was sacked from the organisation, has welcomed the appointments of senior public servants.

Former special director at the NPA advocate Lawrence Mrwebi yesterday said: “I can only wish them well. I know all of them including advocate Ouma Rasethaba.

“I know Rodney and Mthunzi very well. They are good people. They haven’t done anything I can be ashamed of.”

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of the three senior public servants has been met with mixed feelings by various experts in the legal fraternity.

The president yesterday confirmed the appointment of former Western Cape director of public prosecutions advocate Rodney de Kock as the national deputy director of public prosecutions.

De Kock replaces the authority’s controversial former advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, who left under a dark cloud following the recommendations of the Mokgoro inquiry led by former Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro.

Mokgoro declared Jiba and Mrwebi unfit to hold office in the NPA.

The two were fired following their controversial withdrawal of criminal charges against former Crime Intelligence boss General Richard Mdluli.

Mrwebi did not challenge the outcome of the Mokgoro inquiry and opted to return to the private sector while Jiba lodged an application in the high court to interdict Parliament from removing her from her job.

But on November 7 last year, Jiba wrote to National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and officially withdrew her legal challenge to remain in her job.

As a result, Parliament and its portfolio committee on justice approved Ramaphosa’s endorsement of the Mokgoro inquiry report.

In March this year, De Kock was appointed as acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) until his official appointment confirmation yesterday.

Ramaphosa also appointed advocate Ouma Rasethaba as National Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and advocate Mthunzi Mhaga as special director and adviser to NDPP advocate Shamila Batohi who was appointed in 2018.

Detailing his reasons, Ramaphosa said: “These appointments are essential for the efficient functioning and rebuilding of the NPA as part of the fight against crime and corruption and as a contribution to deepening the capability of the state.”

Lawson Naidoo of the Council for the Advancement of South African Constitution (Casac) agreed but said the appointments were long overdue.

He said the NPA must undergo a process of “institutional rehabilitation” andfill other critical posts to increase its ability to fight crime and corruption.

While he singled out De Kock as having valuable experience in prosecutorial activities, Naidoo said his counterpart Rasethaba also brings a lot of experience with her commercial and corporate background.

“Advocate Mhaga has been around in the NPA and the public service,” Naidoo said.

But advocate Paul Hoffman SC was critical of the appointments.

“Due to the ravages of state capture during the Zuma years, the NPA can be likened to the Titanic after it struck the iceberg. Appointment of new senior staff on the ‘Upper Deck’ does not address the ‘Below the Deck’ gash-in-the-hull problems posed by what (Investigative Directorate) ID leader advocate Hermione Cronje calls ‘saboteurs’ within the ordinary ranks of the NPA.

“These ‘saboteurs’ are in place to thwart any attempts by the state to bring the kleptocrats to book. The new appointments can be compared to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Hoffman said.

He said that what was actually needed was an ‘integrity commission’ that would deal with grand corruption in a specialised way using highly trained staff covering the fields of prevention, combating, detecting, investigating and prosecuting grand corruption.

“The NPA is too ‘hollowed out’ (Robert MacBride’s words) to succeed in ridding SA of grand corruption. Cronje’s ‘saboteurs’ are too numerous and too well-entrenched for the new leadership to make an iota of difference to the dismal record of virtually zero prosecutions of the politically connected in SA’s courts.

“If the NPA and the Hawks are relieved of the specialised task of confronting those involved in grand corruption they will be able to make a dent in the high incidence of other crimes by leaving the investigation and prosecution of grand corruption to the ‘integrity commission’, a new Chapter 9 institution purpose-built, free of saboteurs and willing to do the necessary in a manner which complies with the ‘STIRS’ criteria laid down by the Constitutional Court in 2011 in the Glenister case,” Hoffman said.

He said De Kock, able as he is, will be no more capable of dealing with the ‘saboteurs’ that Cronje refers to than any other leading figure in the NPA.

“Structural reform is required for any new appointment to succeed with the vast backlog of state capture related prosecutions,’ he said.

Mhaga said it was too early for him to comment on his appointment.

The appointments are essential for the efficient

functioning of the NPA