Pretoria - Old files in cases where the National Prosecuting Authority declined to prosecute may be dusted off again by the new private prosecuting unit headed by advocate Gerrie Nel.
Nel will from today lead the team, set up by lobby group AfriForum. On Tuesday, he said he was excited to head the new unit, which will take a look at cases the NPA declined to prosecute.
Nel said they had not yet decided which cases they would look at, and he would not commit himself to the nature of the cases.
When asked whether the unit would take a look at the possible prosecution of President Jacob Zuma on the dropped fraud and corruption charges, AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel interjected they would definitely keep a close eye on the progress of the matter.
“Corrupt persons must realise that nobody is above the law, not even the country’s president,” Kriel said.
Nel made it clear that the unit would not only look at highly placed government officials who could be guilty of corruption but would also focus on local government officials who could be guilty of wrongdoing. The unit would even investigate cases brought to them involving ordinary citizens, they said.
Nel, known as the “Bulldog” in prosecuting circles, dropped a bombshell this week when he gave the NPA 24 hours’ notice. He had been a prosecutor for 36 years.
He said it was no easy decision but he was concerned about the perception that the NPA had a tendency to prosecute selectively. He said no one was above the law.
“I believe in the supreme authority of the law. AfriForum’s newly founded private prosecuting unit gives me the opportunity within civil society to help ensure that everyone is equal before the law. We are now in a position to prosecute persons who are not prosecuted by the NPA,” Nel said.
He made it clear that he believed in the courts and the prosecutors of the country, and stressed that the unit would only take on cases the NPA declined to prosecute,
and which they believed should be pursued.
South Africa’s legislation made private prosecution possible in cases where the NPA decided not to prosecute.
“If we believe in a matter, we will take it on,” Nel said.
He said while corruption will receive their attention, it would not be the only matter to look into.
Kriel said he trusted that Nel’s appointment would send a clear message to corrupt politicians and officials on national, provincial and local government levels that they could no longer be indemnified from prosecutions due to their political contacts.
Nel said he would start with an investigation to determine which public officials had strong cases against them and were not being prosecuted.
But he said it would take some time as the unit first had to get off the ground and he had to appoint his team.
Asked whether investigator Paul O’Sullivan would be part of his team, Nel said he had not met him yet.
Nel stressed there was no bad blood between him and NPA boss Shaun Abrahams. “In all my years at the NPA our paths never crossed.” Nel simply said he respected Abrahams’s position as head of the NPA.
“It was difficult for me to leave.
I was leaving a lifetime behind, which I enjoyed. I am a prosecutor with integrity and I will always remain a prosecutor.”