It was improper of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to publicly describe a sentence as excessive, the New National Party (NNP) said on Tuesday.
NNP justice spokesperson Carol Johnson was reacting to National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka’s criticism of the sentence of former African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Tony Yengeni in a weekend newspaper.
”…The sentence was a bit excessive,” he was quoted as saying.
Ngcuka reportedly said he did not believe the crime of which Yengeni was convicted — failing to disclose information to Parliament — merited his going to jail.
According to the report, Ngcuka also deemed Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s four-year sentence for fraud and theft — which was to be converted to community service after eight months — excessive.
Yengeni was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment earlier this year for failing to disclose to Parliament the 47% discount he received on a luxury car from a company linked to the country’s multi-billion rand arms deal.
The magistrate ordered that he could be considered for correctional supervision after having served one-sixth of the sentence.
During the trial, the state advocate asked the court to use its discretion in deciding on a sentence.
Johnson said the NPA had said in May that it had not taken a ”lenient or soft approach” when Yengeni was sentenced.
”But we are not so sure,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ngcuka’s latest comments seemed to create the impression that the NPA was sympathetic to Yengeni’s case, said Johnson.
”In our view, it is highly improper for the NPA to publicly announce that a sentence of the magistrate’s court is ‘excessive’. It is the job of the NPA to call for tough sentences.
”Justice cannot be served if the impression is created that the state, who is supposed to be prosecuting criminals, is criticising a court for imposing too harsh a sentence.”
The NPA deliberately left the decision to the magistrate, who handed down a sentence which he deemed to be suited to the circumstances and nature of the crime, Johnson said.
”It is now up to a higher court to test the magistrate’s decision on appeal. The NPA should now leave the decision to a competent court.” – Sapa