National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said she was acutely aware of the legitimate expectations of all South Africans to see justice being delivered effectively, fairly and swiftly. Picture: Bongani Shilubane/African News Agency(ANA)
Conducting high-quality investigations, successfully prosecuting criminals and recovering the ill-gotten proceeds of crime were among the challenges National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) highlighted when recently tabling its 2023/24 annual report in Parliament.
Batohi said she was acutely aware of the legitimate expectations of all South Africans to see justice being delivered effectively, fairly and swiftly.
“It is with this awareness that we renew our pledge to serve with integrity, fairness, humility and in relentless pursuit of justice,” she said.
“Rebuilding the NPA is an ongoing and complex process, but after five years of steady progress, we have a solid basis from which to continue our collective efforts to build an NPA that all South Africans can be proud of.”
She described the Investigating Directorate (ID) as the sharpest weapon in the NPA’s anti-corruption arsenal to investigate and prosecute complex corruption and state capture-related matters.
“Despite initial resource and capacity constraints, and a weak founding legal framework, the ID has done remarkable work.
“As a growing unit with more than 100 specialised staff, the ID has authorised 117 matters involving 212 accused persons and 68 entities. Of these, 78 are under investigation and 39 cases are enrolled.”
Batohi said despite what some critics might say, a quick scan of the ID’s cases would refute any suggestion that the NPA was not prosecuting any “big fish” of state capture.
In its annual report for the period under review, the NPA said its National Prosecuting Services exceeded expectations in many performance areas.
“These include exceptional conviction rates in the high courts (91%), regional courts (81.8%) and district courts (95.1%), as well as for the prosecution of murder (80.4%), femicide (91.7%), intimate partner femicide (93.3%), complex tax matters (97%) and organised crime (93.4%).”
The convictions for serious and violent crime were obtained in 3 025 of 3 764 (80.4%) murder cases finalised with a verdict with a conviction rate that increased by 0.6%.
“The fight against violent crime, particularly murder and rape, was undermined by challenges with the management of forensic DNA due to shortages of essential chemicals required for DNA analysis. The SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory is addressing these challenges.”
The report said the NPA continued to place special emphasis on prosecuting gender-based violence and femicide matters.
“A conviction rate of 91.7% (511 convictions from 557 verdict cases) was obtained for femicide. During the last financial year, 375 convictions were obtained from 402 verdict cases, representing a 93.3% conviction rate.”
The report also said the Asset Forfeiture Unit’s (AFU’s) major impact was achieved with settlements of R2.68 billion and recoveries of R770 million in the financial year.
The AFU struggled with a vacancy rate of almost 50% at the start of the period under review.
Cape Times
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