'We are committed to dealing with the TRC cases', NPA tells MPs
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it’s made significant progress in pursuing cases that have emanated from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
CAPE TOWN - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it’s made significant progress in pursuing cases that have emanated from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
This despite losing at least ten prosecutors over the past year who were dedicated to working on these cases.
But on Tuesday, Parliament’s justice committee were unimpressed by the progress update from the NPA, bemoaning a lack of detail on each of the cases.
The NPA is currently investigating 128 apartheid-era murder, torture and kidnapping cases.
The NPA has finalised seven TRC cases, while another ten are pending in the courts.
Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, says prosecutors have had to find inventive ways to reconstruct a crime scene and to present fresh evidence with the help of experts where none of the original evidence is available.
De Kock’s taken umbrage at an insinuation by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Busisiwe Mkwhebane that commitment to these cases is lacking because the victims are mostly black people.
"This is an absolute priority for me at a personal level, and for the NPA throughout all our regions. Any notion that because of the race of the victims in this matter should really be debunked immediately. We are committed to dealing with the TRC cases."
But the committee says it wants another report-back session that will include victims’ families, with more details on each of the cases.
It also wants to see the evaluation report commissioned by the NPA into its handling of TRC cases by former TRC commissioner and seasoned advocate, Dumisa Ntsebeza.
