Corruption cases taking too long to finalise, NPA admits
The National Prosecuting Authority in Gauteng admitted on Thursday that it still takes too long to finalise corruption cases.
The NPA briefed the media on its performance in Pretoria.
Provincial head, Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, said corruption cases require prosecutors with specialised skills.
Nevertheless, Mzinyathi said the NPA had managed to achieve a 91.9% conviction rate in the high courts in cases involving murder, rape, femicide, sexual offences, human trafficking, organised crime and commercial crimes.
"These cases are often hotly contested by accused people, which results in lower finalisation rates,” said Mzinyathi.
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"With the assistance and cooperation of the chief prosecutors, we now have officially reported a significantly higher number of cases finalised under this indicator.
"Due to the complex nature of the offences handled by the SCCU and heard in the SCCU courts, matters take longer to finalise. It often requires the evidence of numerous witnesses, including expert witnesses.”
Mzinyathi noted success in prosecuting the accused in the Steinhoff graft case and the VBS bank heist.
However, the NPA is yet to make progress in the Life Esidimeni matter, Covid-19 corruption involving the Digital Vibes company and the fraud case against self-proclaimed Prophet Sheperd Bushiri.
The NPA also made strides in the asset forfeiture quest of the people accused of fraud and corruption in Eskom, the National Lotteries Commission and illegal mining kingpins.
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