EDITORIAL: A big bone for a bulldog
Star prosecutor Gerrie Nel’s actions reflect a sense the National Prosecuting Authority is just not doing its job
Seldom has the decision of a single prosecutor to change jobs been so lauded and so criticised at the same time. Star prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who acted in two of SA’s highest-profile cases in the recent past, has decided to join AfriForum’s prosecution unit. Nel was pivotal in gaining convictions against former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, and in doing so, built a fearsome reputation as a resolute and dedicated prosecutor. His reason for leaving the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is to help establish a kind of a parallel prosecution service, an act that reflects very poorly on his former employer. The NPA is arguably one of the most dysfunctional institutions of government. For an already weak and dispirited organisation to lose its star prosecutor is simply devastating. It must be even more demoralising when that star prosecutor confirms the worst suspicions of the public. The NPA, he said, was prosecuting cases selectively, imply...
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