NPA Gauteng director of public prosecutions Sibongile Mzinyathi said the division had convicted 88.9% of organised crime cases and 90.5% of complex commercial crime cases.
The Gauteng division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has seized R173 million in forfeiture assets, including those belonging to illegal mining kingpins and a syndicate that stole from Eskom.
Presenting the performance of the division during the 2023-24 financial year on Thursday, the NPA Gauteng director of public prosecutions Sibongile Mzinyathi said the division had convicted 88.9% of organised crime cases and 90.5% of complex commercial crime cases. The conviction rate for complex tax cases was 90.9%.
Mzinyathi outlined four high-profile cases that the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) — part of the organised crime division — was involved in, the first being related to illegal mining kingpins in which the unit secured three forfeiture orders to the value of R18 million in March.
The properties “are proceeds of unlawful activities of a syndicate dealing in unwrought gold in the Khutsong area, Carletonville”, Mzinyathi said, adding that the case had been postponed for trial in the high court in February.
The AFU also secured two forfeiture orders worth R33 million from the Pretoria high court in March for properties which were the proceeds of unlawful activities at Eskom’s Kusile power station, “following allegations of serious maladministration and corruption”.
In another case related to the electricity utility, the Pretoria AFU was granted an order by the high court in November 2023 to freeze properties and cash worth R29 million belonging to a syndicate that had stolen from Eskom.
The AFU also conducted a financial investigation which uncovered an elaborate scheme that stole millions from the National Lotteries Commission, Mzinyathi said.
“The AFU brought applications for forfeiture totaling 18 against various individuals who were implicated in the theft to the value of approximately R93 million. Some of the applications were opposed but some were not.
“The AFU confiscated various assets in the form of houses and more vehicles. The investigation continues,” he said.
Mzinyathi said the NPA in Gauteng was facing challenges due to a lack of skilled personnel to deal with difficult cases.
“We continue to experience challenges in the finalisation rate of corruption matters. These cases require prosecutors with specialised skills. These cases are often hotly contested by accused people, which results in lower finalisation rates,” he said.
He added that, due to the complex nature of the offences heard in the specialised commercial crimes unit, “matters take longer to finalise”.
Referring to the ongoing Senzo Meyiwa murder case, Mzinyathi said he is “assured now that it is nearing, at least in so far as state evidence is concerned, it is nearing the state where the state case is going to close … and then we will hear what the defence and the accused are doing”.
Mzinyathi said during the 2023-24 financial year the NPA in Gauteng convicted 81.7% of murder cases, 100% of femicide cases, 97.2% of intimate partner femicide cases and 77.5% sexual offences cases.