Time to fill vacant posts and beef up prosecutions

The National Prosecuting Authority has lost 655 prosecutors nationwide since 2015. These are senior advocates who left the NPA and joined the department of justice to become magistrates. While their skills have not been lost to the justice system, their departure has weakened the NPA. Yet these vacancies were not filled, meaning the state’s ability to successfully prosecute cases was negatively affected.

This was revealed by Eastern Cape director of public prosecutions advocate Idra Goberdan to the portfolio committee of the office of the premier on Wednesday.

She emphasised that they had lost some of the brightest minds with a wealth of experience. Those who inherit cases already under way have to start all over again, delaying the course of justice.

Scores of cases get delayed and some are never solved because of inexperienced and sometimes incompetent junior prosecutors.

To an extent, the newcomers are not to blame as some of them are thrown into the deep end – and have to learn on the job.

This situation seriously compromises our justice system as criminals often end up getting off scot-free and families of victims of crime are robbed of closure. As a result, citizens end up losing confidence in the system, with some resorting to not reporting cases to the police.

Whether the senior advocates left as a result of the compromised former NPA boss, Shaun “The Sheep” Abrahams, or not, is in the past.

What is needed now is for the NPA to go to court with watertight cases and put criminals where they belong – behind bars – regardless of their status in society.

Lady Justice is, after all, blind.

South Africans are pinning their hopes on the new director of public prosecutions, advocate Shamila Batohi, to turn this important institution of our young democracy around.

But she does not have a magic wand and will need a team of dedicated, seasoned and highly skilled prosecutors. The first step is for the government to fill the 655 vacancies as a matter of urgency, or newspapers will continue carrying headlines about the NPA squandering more cases.

South Africans are pinning their hopes on new DPP Shamila Batohi ... But she does not have a magic wand