ActionSA welcomes announcement of NPA review of TRC cases

15 January 2023 

ActionSA welcomes the announcement made by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to appoint Advocate D. Ntsebeza SC to review the measures that have been adopted to deal with and prosecute unresolved TRC matters and to provide recommendations as needed to bring some form of finality to these historical crimes.

The delay in doing so is, however, regrettable. The decision to implement the above emanates from the Rodrigues case decided in the South Gauteng High Court in 2019, which called for the investigation of alleged political interference in the TRC cases.

Subject to the Constitution and the NPA Act, no organ of state and no member or employee of an organ of state nor any other person should improperly interfere with, hinder or obstruct the prosecuting authority or any member thereof in the exercise, carrying out or performance of its, his or her powers, duties and functions.

The NPA Act goes on to state that any person who interferes as envisaged above, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

The Court further declared that measures must be indicated, “including checks and balances, which will be put in place to prevent a recurrence of these unacceptable breaches of the Constitution.”

The NPA’s announcement states that the Senior Counsel who has appointed has three months to report their findings and recommendations. We sincerely hope that the NPA will adhere to its own deadline and that the delays we have confronted since 2019 will not be repeated.

We will closely monitor the progress of the compilation of the report and will make our own comments on the recommendations as they are released, in the interests of building a cohesive and united South Africa.

We trust that the findings from the Zondo Commission be given the same level of attention before history eludes us yet again. It is time for action.

Issued by Gillian Benson, Head of Strategic Litigation, ActionSA, 15 January 2023