The newly-appointed director of public prosecutions in the Northern Cape, advocate Livingston Mzukisi Sakata, has described the National Prosecuting Authority as being the ’juicy patty in the middle of the burger’.
THE NEWLY-appointed director of public prosecutions in the Northern Cape, advocate Livingston Mzukisi Sakata, has described the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) as being the “juicy patty in the middle of the burger”.
He explained that the NPA had to wait for DNA results and dockets before they could take a matter to trial.
“We have to wait for the docket and present this evidence before the judiciary. Cases often have to be withdrawn or struck off the roll if there is no DNA evidence. The NPA is always in the middle. However, we will do everything in our power if there is a prima facie case and will motivate that an accused not be given bail until a case is finalised.”
Sakata recognised the need to earn the trust of citizens.
“If they do not trust us – there will be anarchy where people will take the law into their own hands. We have a huge task on our shoulders where we are bombarded on a daily basis with serious violent crimes, gender-based violence, sexual offences, corruption, illegal mining and zama zamas who are rearing their heads. With rising crime levels, we need to find a way of doing things differently through a multi-pronged approach involving disciplines from the Hawks, SAPS, Department of Home Affairs, Special Investigations Unit and Department of Correctional Services.”
Sakata noted that gangsterism was rife in Kimberley and Kuruman, while drug dealing remained a concern in the Province.
According to the NPA, they have a 100 percent conviction rate for femicide, intimate partner murders, while they had a 84.5 percent conviction rate for sexual offences.
Sakata added that corruption was an “infectious disease” that was eating away at the fabric of society.
“No matter how small the bribe, corruption needs to be tackled hands on.”
He indicated that there were no prosecutors in the Northern Cape who were currently facing any charges of corruption.
“There was one prosecutor who was convicted of corruption, who was sentenced to a R60,000 fine in the lower courts. Upon appeal, the sentence was increased to six years imprisonment of which he is currently serving. Offences committed by prosecutors are not taken lightly.”
Sakata stated that they pursued matters against high-profile personalities and politicians “based on the facts”.
“We will not prosecute a case based on the identity or status of an accused.”
The deputy director for public prosecution, advocate Tania Birch, added that DNA reports were allocated and prioritised by senior prosecutors.
“Upon receipt of the results from the forensic laboratory, the DNA is scanned and processed for trial as a matter of urgency. The forensic laboratory has a database of DNA where links can be made of possible perpetrators.”
She added that there was a major backlog of DNA results during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“From October 2021 until September this year there has been progress on 719 forensic matters.”
According to the NPA, DNA backlogs of murder and rape matters have been prioritised.