Durban - ActionSA has welcomed the announcement by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to appoint advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza to review the measures that have been adopted to deal with and prosecute unresolved Truth and Reconcilation (TRC) matters.
On Friday, IOL reported that the NPA had appointed 25 prosecutors and 40 investigators within the various divisions to deal specifically with TRC matters, including the 64 new cases that had been registered for investigation.
The NPA also announced that Ntsebeza was appointed to review the measures that had been adopted to deal with and prosecute TRC matters and to provide recommendations as needed
ActionSA’s head of strategic litigation Gillian Benson said the appointment comes after the Rodrigues judgment in the South Gauteng High Court in 2019, which called for the investigation of alleged political interference in the TRC cases.
That case dealt with the application made by the now deceased apartheid era police officer Joao Rodrigues, who was seeking a permanent stay of prosecution related to the death of apartheid activist Ahmed Timol in 1971.
“ActionSA welcomes the announcement made by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to appoint Advocate D Ntsebeza SC to review the measures that have been adopted to deal with and prosecute unresolved TRC matters and to provide recommendations as needed to bring some form of finality to these historical crimes.”
She said the NPA stated that Ntsebeza had been given three months to report his findings and recommendations.
“’We sincerely hope that the NPA will adhere to its deadline and that the delays we have confronted since 2019 will not be repeated.
“We will closely monitor the progress of the compilation of the report and will make our comments on the recommendations as they are released, in the interests of building a cohesive and united South Africa. We trust that the findings from the Zondo Commission be given the same level of attention before history eludes us yet again. It is time for action," added Benson.