AN ACT of revenge or an attempt to redeploy expertise? That is the question being asked in relation to the recent decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to demote senior prosecutors involved in the corruption case against South African president Jacob Zuma last year.
Nearly one year on from the day on which charges against Mr Zuma were dropped under questionable circumstances, the NPA’s newly appointed boss Menzi Simelane has demoted two of the prosecutors who worked on the high court case against the ruling party’s leader.
Senior advocates George Baloyi and Mutuwa Nengovhela were reassigned last week to lower level positions, albeit on the same pay scale, as part of a “skills transformation” programme, according to Mr Simelane’s office.
In the case of Mr Nengovhela, it has been reported he has been given the responsibilities of a Family Court clerk, while Mr Baloyi has been reassigned to prosecute at district court level. In total, 13 senior prosecutors are involved in the shake-up.
The appointment of Mr Simelane as Director of Public Prosecutions late last year drew widespread condemnation in South Africa, especially in the legal profession, as it was claimed he was a African National Congress (ANC) yes-man appointed to do the ruling party’s bidding.
Such was the outcry against Mr Simelane’s appointment that constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos publicly called Mr Simelane “a liar” and said he was unfit to hold the position, as it needed someone who was beyond reproach.
However, the NPA has insisted nothing underhanded was taking place. NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke said the reassignments were all about spreading the experience of senior prosecutors around at levels where most serious crimes are dealt with.
“The organisation has a wealth of experienced prosecutors, many of whom are in managerial positions at head office and in the DPP offices, mainly concerned with administration. How is this imbalance of resources benefiting the criminal justice system, especially our courts?
“The ever-increasing case backlogs and less than satisfactory conviction rates are a clear sign that the manner in which our courts are resourced with prosecutors is not yielding the positive results that government and the justice, crime prevention and security cluster are aiming to achieve,” she told reporters.
Mr de Vos does not agree, however, saying the reassignment of such senior prosecutors indicated to him that something “fishy” was going on in the NPA.
“If this is a so-called skill transformation process, why are senior officials assigned to do the work of junior prosecutors?” he asked.