NPA not in crisis, says Radebe

Durban -

The National Prosecuting Authority was not in a crisis and reports of its “losses” were an indication that justice was being served, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday.

He was in KwaZulu-Natal to open a new magistrate’s court in Ntuzuma.

Incidents like the acquittal of the police accused of killing Andries Tatane, the scrapping of the charges against Jonathan Davids, accused of raping and murdering Anene Booysen, and, most recently, the dismissal of all 15 charges against senior NPA prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach on Monday were signs of “justice being done”, he said.

“It means that our justice system works, that is why we have an independent judiciary and an independent forum like the one Mrs Breytenbach was under,” said Radebe.

The minister defended the NPA, saying a few losses did not constitute a failure by the prosecuting authority.

“There is no crisis. If one takes into account the number of convictions the NPA has on a daily basis we see that one swallow does not make a summer,” said Radebe.

However, the DA spokeswoman for justice and constitutional development, Dene Smuts, said there had been a notable number of high-profile cases recently in which there had been failure to convict.

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The NPA couldn’t even make charges against one of their own stick,” Smuts added, referring to the Breytenbach incident.

She did admit, however, that the NPA had a good conviction rate on paper and had to contend with external factors such as the police’s ability to investigate crimes properly.

With regard to the possibility of further charges being laid against Breytenbach or whether or not she would be fully reinstated, Radebe remained tight-lipped.

“It is a matter the NPA itself will decide,” he said.

The Mercury