WATCH | ’Political interference delayed prosecuting TRC cases’

Political interference caused significant delays and weakened the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes according to former National Prosecuting Authority bossShamila Batohi. She revealed this on Wednesday while appearing before theTruth and Reconciliation Commission Inquiryin Johannesburg. The inquiry is probing why many cases referred by the TRC — particularly those where perpetrators were denied amnesty — were never fully investigated or prosecuted.

Batohi said the Joao Rodrigues 2019 court judgment flagged serious concerns about interference in the handling of these cases. Rodrigues was implicated in the murder of anti-aparthied activist Ahmed Timol who was arrested at a roadblock and later died at the then John Voster Square police station, known today as Johannesburg Central. The apartheid police said at the time that he had taken his own life by jumping out of a window, something his family vehemently denied.

Former National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi is appearing before the Khampepe commission of inquiry in Newtown, Johannesburg.Video:@Muchave1Muchavepic.twitter.com/Fimow4ZMAQ “As I indicated earlier, when I took office in February 2019, the South Gauteng high court was seized with this matter, and judgment was delivered on 3 June 2019,” Batohi said. “The court found that political interference had materially affected the NPA’s ability to deal withTRC casesdue to a lack of resources. Although the form of interference was not specified, the court emphasised the NPA’s duty to act in the public interest,” she said.

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Batohi said the judgment prompted immediate engagement with the government on how to respond. She then reached out to the then justice minister Ronald Lamola regarding the way forward, she said. “In 2022, I received legal opinions suggesting that a panel chaired by a senior counsel would be appropriate to investigate possible interference,” she said.

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