The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Office for Ethics and Accountability (OEA), established in 2023, is a newly created internal mechanism aimed at promoting ethical conduct and accountability among prosecutors in South Africa. Its creation was mandated by the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, but a formal complaints mechanism was only gazetted through regulations in late 2023. The OEA fills a critical gap in the NPA’s accountability framework, especially amid widespread criticism and declining public trust following state capture revelations and systemic inefficiencies in the justice system.
In January 2024 the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that the German software company SAP would pay restitution of R2.2 billion to South Africa and that the funds would be disbursed to a number of state-owned entities.
This paper argues that the legislation providing for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa neither encourages independence of the prosecution nor ensures prosecution of corruption. Prepared by Jean Redpath
After signing the Optional Protocol to UNCAT (OPCAT) in 2006 and ratifying it in March 2019, South Africa designated a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) being the coordinating structure. Since ratification in March 2019, it appears that to date, the NPM has not been fully functional and institutional arrangements for visiting places of detention under the banner of the NPM remain unclear. There is also uncertainty as to how the constituent parts of the NPM will fulfil the responsibilities under OPCAT. In view of the above, the members of the Detention Justice Forum (DJF) agreed to assess the operational functionality of the NPM in the respective sectors of the DJF member organisations. This also provided an opportunity to identify issues for clarification on the NPM’s mandate and its relations with other components as well as government departments responsible for places where people are or may be deprived of their liberty. This report provides the findings of the assessment performed amongst members of the Detention Justice Forum (DJF) based off a questionnaire that was developed. This report was prepared by K Petersen & J Mangwanda, December 2022
This report provides an analysis of a survey of Magistrates' perceptions of prosecutors conducted in 2022. Prepared by Michael O’Donovan with Jean Redpath
Much of the media attention given to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is centered on high-level corruption investigations, especially linked to the Zondo Commission’s findings and recommendations. While this is important, it should also be asked what happens at ground-level in our courts where ordinary cases are heard on a daily basis. The question can indeed be asked: What are our expectations of the NPA when having to engage with the criminal justice system as a victim, witness or even an accused? Do we know what we want from the NPA in real and practical terms? In June and July 2022 ACJR commissioned a series of consultation workshops with stakeholders to discuss these questions and develop descriptions of “the NPA that we want”. The consultations yielded valuable observations and insights, demonstrating on the one hand that people generally have a deep understanding of the challenges facing the NPA and, on the other hand, clear understandings of what they expect of the NPA, especially as these relate to the four core values of professionalism, independence, accountability, and credibility.
This report makes a number of overview observations dealing with broader issues of governance, human rights, the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the criminal justice system. A central lesson to be taken from these findings is the need for continued vigilance in seeking a balancing of rights and the importance of evidence-based policy-making, especially where there is the potential that those already socio-economically vulnerable may be pushed deeper into poverty. Report by L Muntingh, J Mangwanda & K Petersen
Report by K Petersen and J Mangwanda (2022)
Report by K Petersen, J Mangwanda, L Muntingh and J Redpath (2022)
Report by J Mangwanda and K Petersen (2022)
![[Report] An assessment of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in South Africa](https://dullahomarinstitute.org.za/acjr/acjr-publications/original-npm-report-2022.pdf/@@images/b268f992-baad-48f1-b946-4c399f9eec83.png "[Report] An assessment of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in South Africa")
