While law enforcement agencies are facing immense pressure to rapidly address state capture allegations, arresting before investigating and subjecting individuals to a media trial detrimentally impacts their public image, resulting in reputational damage long before the court proceedings.
This is according to UCT Associate Professor of Criminology Irvin Kinnes who said the strategies used by the Scorpions, with the knowledge that you only move against targets once you have water-tight and prima facie evidence, should be considered.
This comes as the NPA asserted its capability to prosecute state capture cases amid criticism for challenges in handling high-profile corruption prosecutions especially related to state capture. This was in the wake of the R2.2 billion fraud case against ex-Eskom CEO Matshela Koko being struck off the roll in the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court this week.
Kinnes said it is the second time that a case related to state capture was “lost” in court, and this does not augur well for the Investigative Directorate and, more importantly, the NPA.
“These cases are supposed to be high-profile cases where the country expects the SAPS and the NPA to collaborate in bringing evidence in front of the court. They have failed in this latest case. The prioritisation of these cases is directly linked to the allocation of resources to the NPA and, more importantly, how they direct the SAPS to investigate.
It also shows that there is a lack of financial crimes capacity to put together a report on the flow of funds.
However, there is nothing stopping the NPA from reinstating the charges in a court of law once the NDPP has authorised it. It does force the NPA to revisit the drawing board on these charges and the investigation thereof.
“Immeasurable pressure has been brought to bear on law enforcement agencies to move swiftly against state capture offenders. The practise of arresting before investigating is an old way of doing these investigations. It fails miserably with South Africa’s Constitutional provisions that are in place.
“It could be argued that the trial by the media has already harmed the individual’s reputation in the court of public opinion.”
Kinnes said the state should be able to buy in expertise in such matters in order to assist the prosecution of such high-profile matters with a view of retaining skills for their investigators once the private sector leaves.
“The teams that are involved in the investigations in such matters should not be contaminated and there should be a high level of assurance in the investigators.”
NPA Investigating Directorate (ID) spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka maintained that the ID was able to prosecute state capture matters.
“These investigations are, however, complex and complicated, spanning a long period of time with various individuals and entities involved and often involving foreign jurisdictions. Such investigations require specialist capabilities which the ID currently does not have and which must be outsourced through procurement.
“The ID also doesn’t have sufficient investigative resources, let alone specialised capabilities.
“It is only the Nulane matter related to state capture, where the accused were discharged.
The SCA has granted the NPA petition to appeal the matter and the ID is currently dealing with that process.The Koko matter will be re-enrolled again, once all the outstanding issues as canvassed.
The permanence of the ID will go a long way in ensuring that the ID has sufficient relevant investigative capacity and specialised capability to deal with these complex corruption matters.”
Koko maintains his innocence and says the NPA singled him out for persecution to settle scores against him and his family by charging him with fraud and corruption. He also confirmed that this case had harmed his image that his bank accounts had been shut.
Cape Times