Special Hearings — Legal Hearings — 1997-10-27

MR SKOSANA: Thank you chairperson. I was employed by the (...indistinct) department of justice as a public prosecutor from 1984 to 1992 and I'm going to highlight those aspects where there were serious flaws which emanate from (...indistinct) to which I also was a part. And my testimonial refer basically to the area of KwaNdebele which now is part of Mpumalanga province.
 There were quite some number of interference by the executive at that part of the council in our functions as prosecutors. And the most common instance of interference is where the executive, the members of the cabinet would call the prosecutors and give instructions. There was one particular instance when in 1986 the minister of interior someone (...indistinct) to the chief (...indistinct) office and all prosecutors were instructed that there were certain group of persons who belonged to the (...indistinct) group. One is called (...indistinct) and other members of the executive who are not to be tried or to be charged of any offence. We tried to explain the position to the then executive that, that would lead us to problems and conflict with the office of the attorney general under whom we fell and under whose authority we prosecuted. But they didn't listen to instead we were informed that if we wanted to serve the attorney general we'd better leave the area and go to work in offices in Pretoria. 
 Those incidences inferred from that meeting one of the prosecutors was even dismissed from the meeting. Those incidences were reported to the attorney general's office in Pretoria but the office of the attorney general was reluctant to intervene in those aspect. And one of the consequences of failure to follow the instruction given by the executive was that the prosecutor would normally or would eventually not be appointed to the rank of a magistrate as the position must be. So prosecutors often found themselves in conflict situation that is where they had to apply the law and with a clean conscience and lost their jobs or had to be loyal to the government and keep their jobs. 
 Mr Naka will highlight on the issue of bail applications but what I need to highlight in this aspect is that whereas on the one side the office of the attorney general would issue a bail certificate preventing the granting of bail to those who opposed the government of the day. On the other hand as against those who were in governance, they themselves approach the prosecution and apply for bail and request the prosecutor that look we want this person to be granted bail, they would arrange bail hearings after hours. Come to the prosecutors, instructs the prosecutors this particular person must be granted bail and if the prosecutor was not prepared to comply thereto they would utilise then the sections 5 of the constitutional act whereby a police official would be appointed and be granted bail. The poor person who handles them would not be aware of that bail application only to find out the following day when you retrieve the cases you find that a certain policeman and magistrate outside (...indistinct) has been summoned. There was a special hearing that person has been granted bail.
 Other aspects where I wish to make some highlights were the handling of case dockets. We were given instructions from them on all matters which involved the members of the executive and MP's. We were given written instructions from the office of the attorney general that they should only be handled by certain officials and this in a way hampered our prosecutorial functions in the sense that we were not able to make our view or inputs or comments on most of the cases where the members of the executive were charged or accused. And in some instances the matter would go to the extent that the police would take the docket direct himself to the attorney general and would come back with the docket with the attorney general's instruction being endorsed on the docket. 
 I would just quote an example that there was even one case where some members of the executive were arrested for having forced some persons to walk on top of hot coals, fire. And we never had access to that docket. The docket was handled between the police and the attorney general directly and the only time the docket was brought to our attention was when the accused had to come and (...indistinct) admissions of guilt for those offences. And when we try to follow up we find that those decisions were endorsed by the office of the attorney general. Therefore there was a very close relationship between the executive and the police. (...indistinct) were manipulated by the government of the day to access and influence the office of the attorney general. There was for instance this where the office of the attorney general will make a decision solely on the report and the conviction of the police official without involving the prosecutor who sent him the matter.
 As I've said earlier we did try to take up this problems with the office of the attorney general but a lot of (...indistinct) steps would be taken by that office and I was delighted to hear my former boss earlier on saying that perhaps they did not have powers over the police but they situation (...indistinct) was the other way around. In the sense that the police in fact did have powers over the office of the attorney general. 
 And from my personal observation the office of the attorney general could not effectively handle the problems as they experience by the (...indistinct) in that the staff of the office of the attorney general was overloaded with cases to the extent that they could not properly apply their minds to the matters referred to them or they deliberately allowed matters to go out of control. 
 However Chairperson, it is hoped that under the new constitution and in this democratic government that office of the attorney general will be restructured in a manner that will rid itself of the mistakes of the past so that we are able to regain the confidence of the criminal justice system on the people. And Mr Naka will capture those aspects which I not captured, which I've left out.

CHAIRPERSON: Thank you. Advocate Naka?