The nation is hungry for State Capture arrests
National Director of Public Prosecutions Sham
While the immediate political stakes involved in any decisions made by the NPA are immensely high, they are easily as high for the longer-term future of our criminal justice system.
When the commentariat casts its eyes over the general political scenery, much of the debate tends to centre on the balance of power in the ANC. This precarious balance could be tipped at any time. And yet, the precise event that could make the difference is hard to predict.
Meanwhile, public pressure is growing on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to take action. Day after day there is more damning testimony at the State Capture commission. Many of the people implicated in that wrongdoing are still in government, or in the ANC, or in Parliament, some as powerful as ever.
In such a poisonous environment, it seems that only a decisive set of actions by the NPA, the arrest of people implicated in State Capture, is what could change this balance. For now, there are few visible signs of action.
Recent events in Parliament — and the nomination of the Parliamentary committees’ chairs — has exposed the fault lines in the ANC. People accused of criminal wrongdoing, such as Mosebenzi Zwane and Faith Muthambi, are suspected of being placed in these positions specifically to undermine the agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government.
Also, there is clear evidence against them and against the man who is seen to be responsible for their appointment, Ace Magashule. The ANC secretary-general himself is seen by most as having a criminal case to answer, much of it contained in Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book,
Gangster State.
All of this points to NPA action against them being the only event powerful enough to break the stalemate.
Cont.........
