NPA under fire from MPs over TRC cases

NPA under fire from MPs over TRC cases

Parliamentarians have expressed their displeasure with the report by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) matters.

This was after the deputy national director of public prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, made a presentation on the work done by the prosecuting body in collaboration with the Hawks.

“The plan we put in place is that there is a close relationship between the prosecutors and investigators. We follow a prosecution-guided model of investigation as far as TRC cases are concerned,” De Kock said.

He also said there was a TRC section in the NPA and explained how it was handling the cases with the Hawks.

A national special director had been assigned to work on the TRC matters with administrative personnel to assist.

There was regular contact with victims’ families to update them when decisions were taken on cases.

“We really reach out in a collaborative way with families and with any institution that can assist to get investigations finalised as speedily as possible,” De Kock said.

The MPs heard there were 15 dedicated TRC prosecutors and 38 investigators across the country. There were 137 TRC cases under investigation, 18 finalised and 13 on the court roll.

Families were requesting, where there was evidence, that matters be presented to the court and that the court make a decision in finalising an inquest.

The MPs were told several challenges were faced in the TRC matters.

These included prosecutors employed on a contract basis leaving the entity when they got permanent positions elsewhere.

There was also a lack of dockets – some inquest dockets had been destroyed after 1994 – and challenges regarding TRC records and other documents in control of other government departments.

Another problem encountered was that witnesses, the accused and persons of interest had died or witnesses were unwilling to co-operate with investigating officers and the NPA.

“We do our best to allay the fears of witnesses. This is a sensitive area of our work. We do everything to protect our witnesses and that is why we don’t publicise these cases.”

De Kock said in managing the investigations and potential witnesses, the aim was to keep investigations intact.

However, the parliamentarians were not pleased with the report presented.

Chairperson of the justice and correctional services portfolio committee Bulelani Magwanishe led the charge, saying the report was thin on details and the last report received was much better.

“It is painful that you are reducing a painful period in our past to just numbers. I was in pain not to stop you.

This is certainly not a good report.” He said the NPA may have made progress on the TRC cases, but the manner of reporting was not good.

“These people were not family members but leaders of society,” he said. It was not only the MPs who had an interest in developments in cases of victims of apartheid police killings.

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said she shared Magwanishe’s sentiments and understood the matter was sensitive.

“The NPA has many other matters to report on and I worry that they spend much time preparing reports.

That is one of the reasons that impacts on their other work,” she said.

“These matters are important and reflect a significant period in our past.

People deserve to be treated with dignity,” she added, before suggesting a meeting should be organised with the families of TRC victims where a detailed report could be presented.

ANC MP Nomathemba Maseko-Jele said they wanted the guilty in these cases in orange overalls, as was the case with state capture enablers.

“They list the challenges and do not indicate how they deal with those challenges,” she said.

Maseko-Jele said some of the families of TRC victims were suing or planning to sue the government because of delays in dealing with their cases.

“They (the NPA) must come back and give details of all these issues … We feel this matter must be taken seriously, like other matters,” she said.

EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane said a comprehensive report was needed as there were perpetrators of apartheid crimes who were not brought to book because they were white apartheid police. “It’s like black life does not matter,” she said, adding that the NPA should show passion when reporting on the TRC cases.

In response, De Kock noted the issues raised about the report but expressed his concern that conclusions were being drawn about their lack of commitment.

“The NPA leadership and the measures we put in place in 2021 and previously reported demonstrated commitment to processes to deal with these matters.

“This is absolutely a priority for me at personal level and at NPA in all the regions. Any notion that (there was prejudice) because of the race of victims in this matter should really be debunked immediately,” De Kock said.

He insisted that the NPA were committed to dealing with TRC cases and to being accountable for their work.

“Some of the comments that are directed at us are unfair. We demonstrated … progress we made.

“When we started there was nothing. We have moved quite significantly in progress on these matters,” he said.

Magwanishe, however, said the NPA had done a lot of work but was not reporting on it.

He said in cases where state attorneys and the SAPS were refusing to provide records, leading to postponement of cases, they should be called to account.

“We must identify stakeholders within our oversight powers who are not contributing meaningfully to this process and they must be held accountable,” he said.

Cape Times