Shamila Batohi: Villain or scapegoat for the NPA's failures?

Is Shamila Batohi, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority, the victim of an orchestrated campaign aimed at removing her from the office or is she responsible for the prosecuting body’s failure to prosecute several high-profile cases.

Last week Batohi, responding to criticism over several embarrassing defeats in massive cases, said there had been “infiltration” of the prosecution service, but later backtracked, saying she had used the wrong term and instead that certain cases were being deliberately sabotaged.

The embarrassing defeats include the case against Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, who was acquitted on more than 30 charges of sexual assault and the case against former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule when the court ruled that the extradition of his former PA, Moroadi Colota, from the US was invalid.

In the court of public opinion these high-profile losses by the NPA appear to be linked to incompetence but it would be remiss to overlook Batohi’s claims that prosecutors are working with criminals to sabotage cases.

This explosive revelation by the country’s prosecutions boss to justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi at a recent meeting should set alarm bells ringing. 

Instead the focus has shifted to the calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa not to extend Batohi’s term of office, which expires next year, and to change the appointment model for selecting a new head of the NPA.

The hard lessons for Batohi and those who want to see prosecutions of those involved in state capture or corruption, is that the NPA has suffered from a skills catastrophe for years.

There are too few staff with the skills to prosecute those involved in high-level crimes and there is a distinct lack of political willpower to resolve this.

Ramaphosa has promised to meet with Batohi, defending the NPA by saying it has done considerable work to stabilise itself as well as go on with various prosecutions. 

“Quite often, we look at where there is failure or where there are mistakes, and we think the whole system is not working,” said Ramaphosa. 

Ignoring Batohi’s concerns and replacing her may buy the NPA some time to right itself, or it could place the prosecuting authority in even more peril, especially if her claims that prosecutors are working with criminals to bungle cases are valid.