LETTER: NPA part of ANC’s election campaign

After five years of minimal press, national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi has — suspiciously, less than a month before the May 29 elections — been all over the media, writing opinion pieces, holding round table press conferences and doing radio interviews singing the praises of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Batohi herself has stated that it is unusual for the state prosecutor to engage with the media this much.

I am not surprised by the NPA’s recent actions. Its budget depends on the justice minister, and Batohi's position as the head of the NPA depends on the president. This is what DA pit bull Glynnis Breytenbach warned about, and why we need a properly independent corruption-busting unit.

The NPA has been dragged into the ANC election campaign because the ANC wants to appear to have done something to root out corruption. For the ANC to look good, the NPA has to look like it has done its job. This means press conferences to change the perception that the NPA, and by extension the ANC, has failed in its duty.

While the NPA continues its political campaigning, the fact of the matter remains that no-one involved in state capture is behind bars. It keeps enrolling matters but not following through. And the political elite remains untouched.

If the NPA wants to campaign, it had better have something to campaign about. The facts speak for themselves.

Franciska Rossouw
Claremont

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