Kaya 959 Reporter
National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi had a media briefing on Monday, where she said there is no crisis at the National Prosecution Authority.
She also responded to the reports of the resignation of NPA head of the Investigating Directorate Hermione Cronje. Cronje in May 2019 by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In the media briefing Batohi said there was no crisis at the NPA.
“To be clear, the NPA is not in a crisis and [there is] no widespread sabotage of the ID or any part of the NPA that’s taking place. We’ve come through a difficult period and there are various internal processes that are looking at various aspects.
She also commented on Cronje’s resignation.
“Advocate Cronje’s resignation is a culmination of various factors. The incorrect narrative that it’s because of interpersonal relations between her and I really makes for dramatic reporting and that’s where it ends.
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Adv Paul Hoofman, Director of Accountability Now joined Phemelo Motene to unpack the state of the National Prosecution Authority. He spoke of a leadership vacuum that exists in the NPA, and gave his view on the press briefing.
“It’s simply clear that Cronje became too frustrated and to fraughted in her efforts to do her job properly and couldn’t take it anymore. I think it’s quite understandable that she should resign. I won’t be suprised to see her decision to resign resulting in other resignations in the upper echelon.”
“If you take a step back and look at that whole screen we had to look at all morning, the missing ingredient, the necessary clout, gravitas, or what they call in HR ‘sapiential authority’, there was nobody there on that screen, with one or two exception who looks like a leader and that is what is missing.”
“You do need to have somebody who rallies the troops, and leads from the front, who can inspire confidence, and I am afraid I watched what was going on there and I did not feel any of those subtle vibes coming across.”
Batohi also commented on why they had failed to successfully prosecute a single case blaming those who were accused for using every trick in the book to delay court cases.
“A successful prosecution is charging people and so there’s no cases that’s been concluded yet. These matters are really complicated and the sad reality is that in the current climate accused persons will do everything possible to ensure cases do not proceed to finality; that the state is not even able to start leading the evidence on merits of the case.”
She also said that the NPA is in the process of developing an ethics office aimed at dealing with improper conduct by prosecutors and that corruption will be a focus for the NPA.
