Pretoria – Since the establishment of the private prosecutions unit at AfriForum, cases have been streaming in with the next few years going to be a very busy time for the unit, veteran prosecutor Gerrie Nel said.
Nel who put Paralympian Oscar Pistorius behind bars was speaking at a community meeting in Silver Lakes where he explained the purpose of the new private prosecution hub within AfriForum and the effects of corruption.
The lobby group is no stranger to the courts having fought several cases involving affirmative action and university language policies but this unit’s work would be a departure from AfriForum’s usual civil litigation focus.
“We have been inundated with cases. We have received quite a few very good cases. But we cannot prosecute all the matters. There will be a sifting process,” he said.
However, he remained mum on what the first case they will tackle will be.
Nel would not be drawn into who was on their “target list” or whether President Jacob Zuma would be the number one target.
But he said investigations were under way to determine which public officials against whom there was a strong case were not being prosecuted.
AfriForum’s private prosecution unit would consider the list of suspects identified together with information received from the public about corrupt officials to determine who should be prosecuted first, Nel said.
In addition to the cases the unit had also received hundreds of CVs of people who wanted to join the unit.
Nel explained to the crowd of more than 600 that he would talk to anyone who approached the unit wanting to pursue a private prosecution.
But he could only take on the case once the National Prosecuting Authority had decided not to prosecute, he said.
The unit could even advise people on what next step to take in the event a private prosecution was not possible.
Once a private prosecution was instituted, the normal court processes followed.
Nel also attempted to simplify understanding of corruption.
“I am convinced that an understanding of what corruption entails will make it so much easier to identify, investigate and prosecute."
“In our general discussions and in the media, we have grouped theft, fraud, embezzlement and corruption together under the term corruption. I will attempt to demystify the concept of private prosecutions,” he said.
“I am convinced that an understanding of our aims in creating a private prosecutions capacity within AfriForum will ensure support by all,” said Nel.
Anyone who was allegedly involved in corruption regardless of their standing in society whether they are a public figure or not would be prosecuted by the unit if they were not prosecuted by the NPA especially if they met the criteria for prosecution, Nel said.
Private prosecution was still unique. It was new and challenging but remained an exciting journey.
“Selective prosecutions or even a perception that the NPA is engaging in selective prosecutions is inherently unfair."
“If our main aim is to ensure that there are no selective prosecutions – then certainly no one would criticise us. You may believe that we have ulterior motives but every right-minded person will support an unit or organisation that protects the principle of equality before the law by addressing the perception of selective prosecutions by the NPA,” he added.
“It is not a parallel prosecution stream. We cannot decide which matters to prosecute and claim a right to prosecute those.”
In most countries prosecutors have the power to decide whether to prosecute or not.
“There’s no principle of compulsory prosecution. This means that people who believe they have been aggrieved can fall through the net if the State declines to prosecute their case.”
Private prosecutions were allowed in many countries under common law, including Australia, Canada, Kenya, Zimbabwe and the UK. “This not just about political prosecutions. It is about ensuring corruption is stopped and people are held to account” he said.
Nel will address more community meetings across the country.