The ministers responsible for the criminal justice sector are discussing who is responsible for the witness-protection programme, Minister of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Monday.
He was reacting to media questions over weekend newspaper reports that all 85 operational staff of the witness-protection unit had been ordered to vacate their posts from February 28 without replacements, because of a planning breakdown between police and the National Prosecuting Authority.
Witnesses will not be left unprotected, the minister said.
”These are people who are crucial to the successful investigations that we want; these are people who are going to give important evidence in court cases.”
Nqakula said the issue over who is responsible for witness protection is still a ”grey area”.
”There are certain resources that the Department of Justice [and Constitutional Development] has … and certain responsibilities the police have. We will sort it out,” Nqakula said.
‘Pawns’
It is totally unacceptable that witnesses should be used as pawns in a dispute between the NPA and police, the African Christian Democratic Party said on Monday.
Reacting to the reports regarding the operational staff of the witness-protection programme being ordered to vacate their posts, ACDP justice spokesperson Steve Swart said the party is shocked and disappointed.
”This decision, in effect, will leave critical witnesses without any protection, with dire consequences not only for these witnesses and their families, but also for a number of high-priority criminal trials,” he said.
He said discussion between the NPA and the police has dragged on for too long.
”It is shocking that this matter has been unresolved for years, resulting in such a drastic decision by the police,” Swart said.
The ACDP called on the ministers of justice and safety and security to find a solution urgently to this dilemma and reassure the witnesses under protection that the matter will be resolved before the end of the month. — Sapa