Vital state capture cases to be put on court roll by end of September

The cases of the alleged architects of state capture will be enrolled in the courts before the end of September.

The national director of public prosecutions, advocate Shamila Batohi, and national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya, met on Friday after the recent release of the final state capture inquiry report.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks have committed to ensuring accountability of those implicated in state capture corruption.

On Wednesday the entities recognised the more than 150 recommendations in the final report that were relevant to their units. 

They said many of those cases were already being handled, including: 

• 86 investigations declared by the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID;)
• 21 matters enrolled in court, and;
• 65 accused persons appearing in court for alleged state capture crimes.

“The final Zondo report provides additional impetus for increased co-operation and urgency in execution of respective NPA and DPCI mandates,” the entities said. 

“Additional seminal matters will be enrolled before the end of September. Seminal matters refer to cases involving the alleged architects of state capture, including influential persons and private sector actors and/or large sums of money.

“These cases will be handled by a dedicated team of investigators and prosecutors who have the necessary expertise in prosecution-guided processes involving complex matters.”

The entities said they recognised the “damaging impact of corruption on the rule of law”  and SA’s development prospects.

They have recommitted “to enhancing collaboration and sharing of resources and expertise to ensure the most effective prosecution-guided approach to these complex matters”.

The teams will be sufficiently resourced and co-located to either the NPA or the Hawks offices.

They said they were reprioritising matters to ensure state capture cases took precedence.

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