Latest news with #ShamilaBatohi
News24
11 hours ago
- Politics
- News24
Which way for the NPA?
EDITORIAL: Which way for the NPA? The National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shamila Batohi, faced an expectedly challenging appearance before the justice portfolio committee this week. While the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could draw some solace from last week's Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling in its favour in the Nulane case, significant concerns remain. Key issues include the NPA's mishandling of the rape case involving pastor Timothy Omotoso, as well as the Free State High Court's decision that the extradition of Moroadi Cholota - accused alongside former Free State Premier Ace Magashule in the asbestos corruption case - was unlawful. Adding to these concerns is the slow progress in prosecuting state capture cases, a point of criticism that continues to linger. With just six months remaining in Batohi's term before her expected retirement next year, questions are being raised about what lies ahead for the NPA. Notably, there has been little clarity or action from the Presidency on when the process to appoint her successor will begin. In this week's Friday Briefing, we examine the state of the NPA under Batohi's leadership. Has she delivered on her promises for reform since stepping into the role? News24's legal journalist, Karyn Maughan reflects on two cases where she argues the failure of NPA leadership to put out legal fires before they imploded fundamentally compromised the administration of justice. Casac's Lawson Naidoo explains why he believes the NPA has made some headway under Batohi's tenure. Additionally, News24's parliamentary reporter, Jan Gerber, evaluates Parliament's role in the NPA's challenges, including the impact of funding shortages on the institution. We also feature a Q&A with DA MP and former advocate Glynnis Breytenbach on what must be done to reshape the institution and restore its credibility. Lastly, advocate Lauren Kohn from the Law and Governance Academy of Southern Africa delves into the recent SCA Nulane judgment, shedding light on what it reveals about the current state of our judiciary. You can explore these perspectives and contributions in full below. Set up to fail or maliciously incompetent? What NPA losses tell us Despite high-profile court losses, prosecutions boss Shamila Batohi insists the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is doing a 'fantastic job'. But, Karyn Maughan writes that stance does not recognise how NPA leadership failures have jeopardised criminal accountability. here. Rebuilding justice: Nulane judgment offers redemption for the NPA While the NPA has issues that need addressing, it is difficult to agree with those who wish to portray the NPA as an institution in crisis, in need of a root and branch overhaul, argues Lawson Naidoo. Read the full contribution here. NPA crisis: A chronicle of a snafu foretold If you have been paying close attention to the National Prosecuting Authority's appearances before Parliament, as Jan Gerber has done, you wouldn't be surprised that the pawpaw has hit the fan at the prosecuting body. Read the full contribution here. Q&A with Glynnis Breytenbach | Saying NPA is 'doing a fantastic job' is 'bullsh*t' As scrutiny on the NPA intensifies after it bungled a number of high-profile cases, in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain speaks to DA MP and former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach on what it will take to turn the leaky ship around. Read the full contribution here. SCA Nulane judgment vindicates the rule of law and NPA's important work The real impediment to justice and equity was an affront to the rule of law perpetrated not by the National Prosecuting Authority in the Thabete case, but rather by the guardian of the rule of law itself, the judiciary – an affront that is now embodied for posterity in the Free State High Court's shockingly incorrect legal findings as set out in its judgment, writes Lauren Kohn.
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Shamila Batohi's track record as NPA boss
Manyane Manyane | Published 6 days ago Shamila Batohi's appointment as the National Director of Public Prosecutions raised hopes for a turnaround at the NPA. Despite disappointing results in prosecuting state capture cases, the NPA boasts a remarkable 90% conviction rate in complex commercial crimes in 2024. This achievement, which also included 333 convictions in complex tax case matters, highlights the NPA's strides in prosecuting financial crimes. The NPA's Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, in collaboration with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, achieved these convictions. The prosecuting body's annual report for 2023/24, also showed that over 900,000 criminal matters were finalised across the country. The report also stated that the NPA achieved a remarkable 93.4% conviction rate in prosecuting organised crime cases, although a lot needs to be done to ensure that kingpins are also held accountable. These cases include the arrest and sentencing of six people who were involved in the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran. This was after Deokaran reported irregularities in the spending of the Gauteng Department of Health. Two accused were sentenced to 22 years and three were imprisoned for 15 years. Vincent Mkhefa, the chief financial officer and acting municipal manager at Nketoana Municipality in the Free State, was sentenced to eight years after he appointed service providers to supply 4,000 single-phase pre-payment electrical meters and 1,000 ready boards for R2,124 million. At the time he supposedly took the delivery, the items had not even been manufactured and he created the false impression that they were delivered and received. The unit also had a freezing order of R1.4 billion against Eskom senior executive France Hlakudi who was facing charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering against him and 10 others. The NPA also celebrated the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision to dismiss the deportation appeal of Dr Nandipha Magudumana from Tanzania on May 16. This decision ended a long legal battle over the lawfulness of her return to South Africa in April 2023 and clears the way for her trial, set for 21 July 2025, alongside her alleged partner, Thabo Bester. The NPA also made significant progress in recovering money in economic crime cases, with nearly R2 billion recovered in 129 cases. Of this, R750m has been paid into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). [email protected]
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Legal pressure mounts on NPA and Hawks over Prasa corruption claims
Civil society organisation Open Secrets wants the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to force the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority to fast-track their investigation and prosecution of individuals and companies responsible for looting the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. Image: SAPS A High Court application has been launched to force the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks to investigate and prosecute individuals and companies implicated in widespread Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) corruption. Open Secrets, a civil society organisation and non-profit company, has hauled outgoing national Hawks head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya and National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to force the law enforcement agencies to act against Siyangena Technologies and Swifambo Rails Leasing, which received lucrative contracts from the country's troubled rail agency. The troubles facing Batohi, who is due to retire early next year, appear to be piling up after she endured a tough few weeks at the helm of the NPA. In its application, Open Secrets states that the two companies were awarded contracts worth billions of rand meant to modernise South Africa's rail system. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Instead, they became conduits for fraud, stripping Prasa bare and abandoning millions of poor commuters to a crumbling transport lifeline,' reads the affidavit filed by Open Secrets director Hennie van Vuuren last month. The organisation has asked the court to declare invalid and review and set aside the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation's [DPCI (the Hawks)] failure, within a reasonable time, to complete the investigations into the complaints of corruption and fraud at the Prasa. This is in relation to Prasa's decision to award and conclude the contract with Siyangena and Swifambo, as well as their implementation. In addition, Open Secrets wants the NPA's conduct in failing, within a reasonable time, to see to the completion of those investigations also declared invalid, reviewed, and set aside as well as its inability to take a decision, either to prosecute or not to prosecute, persons implicated or involved in criminal activities, related to the award, conclusion, and implementation of Prasa's contracts with Siyangena and Swifambo. Open Secrets wants the Hawks to be directed to complete their investigations, without further delay, and to take such further steps or file further reports as the court deems just and equitable. It also wants the NPA to be directed to see to the completion of the investigations without further delay, to take a decision, either to prosecute or not to prosecute, persons implicated or involved in criminal activities, relating to Prasa's contracts with Siyangena and Swifambo, and do so without further delay. According to Open Secrets, the NPA should be directed to take such further steps or file such further reports as the court deems just and equitable. 'Due to the delay in the finalisation of the investigations into the alleged corrupt conduct of those who were involved in the award of these contracts, the NPA has consequently not decided whether to prosecute anyone linked to the unlawful Siyangena and Swifambo contracts,' Van Vuuren stated in his affidavit. He added that as a result, an excess of nine years has passed since the criminal complaints were laid in 2015/16, yet no one has been held accountable, contrary to the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, chaired by retired Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo on Saturday confirmed that the DPCI received the notice of motion and that the matter is currently receiving the necessary attention. 'It is important to note that this is a complex matter requiring thorough investigation and ongoing collaboration among relevant stakeholders. We request time and space to allow investigation to proceed without compromise, to ensure that justice is served,' she said. Open Secrets' Ariella Scher said the Hawks and the NPA have filed their notices to oppose the matter, but not Prasa. NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga did not respond to requests for comment.
IOL News
7 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Shamila Batohi: The scapegoat for a rotten system?
AS Shamila Batohi enters the final stretch of her tenure as NDPP, the knives are out. Image: File AS Shamila Batohi enters the final stretch of her tenure as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), the knives are out. The timing is telling, the tone unmistakably hostile, and the message dangerously simplistic: blame Batohi for everything. But is she the villain of the story, or its most convenient scapegoat? There's no denying that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has suffered high-profile failures under Batohi's watch. The acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso on over 30 charges of sexual assault and the recent courtroom blow to the Ace Magashule case, due to procedural issues around the extradition of his former PA, have added to public disillusionment. These losses are symbolic, in the public's eye, of the State's continued failure to deliver justice in a country crying out for accountability. But this narrative, while emotionally satisfying, is intellectually lazy. To understand the failings of the NPA means confronting a far deeper institutional rot, one that long predates Batohi and continues to fester beneath the surface. Shamila Batohi stepped into an institution that was deliberately hollowed out during the State Capture years. The NPA was not just neglected, it was actively sabotaged. Key skills were drained, senior positions were politicised, and internal structures were rigged to favour impunity. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ This wasn't just corruption; it was counter-intelligence in motion, engineered to ensure that those in power would never face consequences. By the time Batohi took the helm in 2019, the institution was functionally compromised. The expectation that she alone could reverse a decade of decay in five years is not just unrealistic, it borders on cruel. Yet when Batohi speaks of 'infiltration' and sabotage from within her own ranks, the reaction is to ridicule, not investigate. That should alarm us. One has to ask: why now? Why, with just six months remaining in her tenure, is the call to replace Batohi growing louder, especially when those calls are paired with a push to 'change the appointment model' for the next NDPP? What lies beneath these headlines could be more than frustration over legal losses. It may well be an elite-driven campaign to ensure that the prosecuting authority remains fragmented, leaderless, and easily manipulated. Batohi's assertion that some prosecutors are actively working with criminals is explosive. If true, it would explain much about the NPA's difficulties in successfully prosecuting powerful figures. It would also point to the continuation of a covert war within the institution, a silent battle between reformers and holdouts from the State Capture era. Her walk-back on the word 'infiltration' has been used to discredit her, but even the toned-down version, that cases are being 'deliberately sabotaged', is a shocking indictment of the institution. And yet, this revelation has been brushed aside in favour of personal attacks on Batohi's leadership. Why are we more comfortable questioning her credibility than investigating the systemic treachery she is pointing to? Let us be clear: the public has every right to demand accountability, performance, and progress from the NPA. But those demands must be grounded in a recognition of the profound institutional crisis that the NPA continues to navigate. To put it bluntly: the house is on fire, and instead of supporting the firefighter, we're blaming her for the flames. Batohi's critics cite case losses as evidence of failure, but in the same breath, they ignore her warnings about prosecutors aiding suspects. They demand better results — yet they scoff at her request for greater support, resources, and protections. They want justice, but not the institutional stability required to deliver it. Leadership, especially in the public service, is as much about what you prevent as what you achieve. It's entirely possible that Batohi's quiet successes, the building of new investigative directorates, the cleanup of internal hiring, and her persistent refusal to bow to political pressure have made her a threat to those who preferred a captured or pliable NPA. If that's true, then the campaign to discredit her is not about justice. It's about power. And so the question becomes: do we, as a society, want a prosecuting authority that works, or one that serves? We can, and should, scrutinise Batohi's record. But let's not be so eager for a scapegoat that we ignore the system that created the crisis in the first place. The very idea of criminal infiltration within the NPA should send shockwaves through the public sphere. Instead, we yawn and demand her resignation.
IOL News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Shamila Batohi's track record as NPA boss
NPA boss Shamila Batohi with President Cyril Ramaphosa. The NPA has celebrated victories in some high-profile cases under Batohi. Image: Jacques Naude/African News Agency/ANA Shamila Batohi's appointment as the National Director of Public Prosecutions raised hopes for a turnaround at the NPA. Despite disappointing results in prosecuting state capture cases, the NPA boasts a remarkable 90% conviction rate in complex commercial crimes in 2024. This achievement, which also included 333 convictions in complex tax case matters, highlights the NPA's strides in prosecuting financial crimes. The NPA's Specialised Commercial Crime Unit, in collaboration with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, achieved these convictions. The prosecuting body's annual report for 2023/24, also showed that over 900,000 criminal matters were finalised across the country. The report also stated that the NPA achieved a remarkable 93.4% conviction rate in prosecuting organised crime cases, although a lot needs to be done to ensure that kingpins are also held accountable. These cases include the arrest and sentencing of six people who were involved in the murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran. This was after Deokaran reported irregularities in the spending of the Gauteng Department of Health. Two accused were sentenced to 22 years and three were imprisoned for 15 years. Vincent Mkhefa, the chief financial officer and acting municipal manager at Nketoana Municipality in the Free State, was sentenced to eight years after he appointed service providers to supply 4,000 single-phase pre-payment electrical meters and 1,000 ready boards for R2,124 million. At the time he supposedly took the delivery, the items had not even been manufactured and he created the false impression that they were delivered and received. The unit also had a freezing order of R1.4 billion against Eskom senior executive France Hlakudi who was facing charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering against him and 10 others. The NPA also celebrated the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision to dismiss the deportation appeal of Dr Nandipha Magudumana from Tanzania on May 16. This decision ended a long legal battle over the lawfulness of her return to South Africa in April 2023 and clears the way for her trial, set for 21 July 2025, alongside her alleged partner, Thabo Bester. The NPA also made significant progress in recovering money in economic crime cases, with nearly R2 billion recovered in 129 cases. Of this, R750m has been paid into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). [email protected]
