Increasing the independence of the NPA: A step in the right direction
17 November 2021
According to media reports the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi, recently addressed Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice & Correctional Services and argued for the full independence of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa.
Reports indicate that Adv Batohi, also in an affidavit submitted to the State Capture Commission, argued for “a fully independent NPA in law, finance and operations”.
This is not the first time Adv Batohi has engaged Parliament on this important issue. During 2020 Adv Batohi made similar submissions when she addressed the National Assembly’s Justice Committee on the issue of separating the NPA from the Justice Department. During the deliberations it was made clear to the Justice Committee that the NPA should be moved from under the umbrella of the Justice Department in order for it to operate more like a Chapter Nine institution in terms of the Constitution - like the Public Protector or the Auditor-General.
Similar calls for the NPA to be more independent were made in 2019 by now outgoing Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.