The apartheid government got away with murder... and SA needs to know why
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News24
8 hours ago
- News24
DA proposes anti-corruption commission amid NPA criticism on botched cases
Our_DA / Twitter The DA has proposed an independent anti-corruption commission and constitutional reforms to strengthen the NPA. NPA head Shamila Batohi admitted setbacks in Timothy Omotoso and the Gupta brothers' extradition cases but defended the progress, blaming underfunding. Batohi insists the NPA is recovering from state capture's damage. The DA has called for sweeping reforms to the country's criminal justice system, including the establishment of an independent anti-corruption commission. The party accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of systemic failures in the handling of high-profile corruption cases. Briefing the media on Friday, DA MPs Glynnis Breytenbach, Damien Klopper and Nicholas Gotsell outlined concerns over the NPA's inability to secure convictions in state capture cases. They cited recent blunders such as the botched extradition from the US of Moroadi Cholota, the ex-personal assistant of former Free State premier Ace Magashule. 'Monotonous' failures Breytenbach criticised the NPA for 'failing to prosecute with any kind of conviction', pointing to procedural errors in high-stakes cases. She highlighted the Cholota matter, where the Free State director of public prosecutions, rather than the justice minister, incorrectly applied for her extradition, a misstep that derailed the case. On Tuesday, the Bloemfontein High Court overturned Cholota's extradition from the US to face corruption charges in the ongoing R250 million Free State asbestos corruption case involving her former boss Magashule, businessperson Edwin Sodi and others. The court upheld a special plea Cholota raised on the NPA's decision to haul her back to SA. Cholota will no longer appear as a co-accused in the case. These mistakes keep happening with monotonous regularity. Glynnis Breytenbach Breytenbach added that not a single politically connected individual had been imprisoned for state capture. She cited other failures, including the Thales corruption case and the withdrawal of charges in the Phala Phala matter due to procedural errors. Klopper expanded on these concerns, referencing the high-profile case of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, in which the NPA's mishandling led to a 'disastrous acquittal'. He also noted the DA's recent private prosecution of a common assault case after the NPA declined to pursue it, questioning the institution's capacity to handle even basic prosecutions. Omotoso was acquitted last month and later deported to Nigeria. Calls for structural reform The DA proposed three key interventions: An anti-corruption commission – A chapter 9 body independent of executive control, with its budget determined by National Treasury rather than the justice minister Strengthening NPA independence – Constitutional amendments to remove the president's sole power to appoint and dismiss the National Director of Public Prosecutions Capacitating the NPA – Urgent budget increases to fill vacancies and attract skilled prosecutors, alongside performance audits by the Auditor-General. Gotsell added that a 'watching brief' programme, piloted in the Western Cape, could improve the coordination between the NPA, the SA Police Service and the victims of crime. He also suggested employing final-year law students to assist the prosecutors with administrative tasks. Batohi defends NPA's record Meanwhile, NPA head Shamila Batohi, speaking on SABC News earlier in the day, acknowledged the setbacks but denied a crisis within the institution. Batohi admitted that the Omotoso case was 'devastating' but said the NPA was appealing the court judgment and it was also investigating prosecutors' conduct. On state capture, Batohi defended the NPA's progress in the cases, noting that the Investigating Directorate had enrolled 33 cases. However, she conceded that there were challenges, including underfunding and salary disparities that were driving skilled prosecutors to other agencies, and 'internal chaos' caused by some staff allegedly undermining the NPA's mission. There has been no political interference during my tenure, Shamila Batohi She admitted she could not guarantee that individual prosecutors were not influenced. She also expressed frustration over the delays in extraditing the Gupta brothers, blaming the United Arab Emirates (UAE) court's refusal and pledging to reapply with additional evidence. In 2023, the UAE dismissed SA's request to extradite the Guptas, and government's attempts have yielded no fruit since then. With her term ending in January next year, Batohi vowed to intensify efforts in the remaining months of her contract. The DA, however, remained sceptical, arguing that only bold reforms, not 'slapdash legislation', could restore public trust in the NPA.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Antarctica ‘too wild for humans to rule', says Shackleton medal winner
Cormac Cullinan has a dream. A dream, he says, that will 'change how humanity sees, understands and relates to Antarctica'. The vast frozen continent – home to emperor and Adélie penguins, leopard and Ross seals, and feeding grounds for orcas, beaked whales and albatrosses – should be recognised as an autonomous legal entity 'at least equivalent to a country', says the environmental lawyer. And this week that dream became one step closer to reality as judges awarded Cullinan the Shackleton medal for the protection of the polar regions. The prestigious prize, worth £10,000, shines a light on people who have shown 'courage, determination, ingenuity and leadership' in their work to protect the polar regions, indicating Cullinan's radical plan to adopt and implement an Antarctica Declaration is gaining momentum. Cullinan, who is based in South Africa and was once an anti-apartheid activist, achieved recognition for his work fighting, often successfully, for legal systems to recognise the rights of rivers, forests and things 'other than human beings' so they could be defended in court cases. The idea of giving species and places legal 'personhood', outlined in his 2002 book, Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice, became part of a wider global movement recognising rights of nature and animals. Cullinan is now arguing that Antarctica as a whole should have this legal personhood, preferably at state level. 'We have to shift how people relate to Antarctica,' he says. 'It's absolutely essential to protect it, not just for itself, which is obviously valid, but also for humanity.' Instead of being treated by the international community and law courts as a 'territory claimed by a number of countries that stuck flags in the ice a while ago … at best, a laboratory and at worst, a potential source of oil, gas, minerals and krill', he wants Antarctica to be legally protected as 'an astounding living community' and 'a being in its own right'. 'It should be obvious that Antarctica is far too wild and fierce for humans to rule,' he says. 'It should be seen as what it is: sovereign unto itself.' Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), a framework created in 1959 and signed by 58 countries. This guarantees that the continent is used exclusively for peaceful purposes, such as science and conservation. It was a great achievement at the time, Cullinan says, when there were proposals to mine Antarctica and countries in conflict over their competing claims. It could have a seat at the table, it could initiate lawsuits or join lawsuits to prevent further greenhouse emissions Cormac Cullinan Now the key challenges Antarctica faces arise from the climate crisis, something caused by activities far outside its geographical boundaries. At the same time, countries such as China and Russia have consistently blocked conservation measures such as the creation of new marine protected areas. 'There's impasse within the system, Cullinan says, while from an ecological perspective, the situation is deteriorating very fast and scientists are saying we have to take urgent, decisive action.' The purpose of declaring Antarctica a legal entity and setting out its rights is to create corresponding obligations for other countries – and international organisations such as the UN – to respect those rights. 'An iceberg doesn't really care whether you think it has rights or not. The issue is: are there human duties to respect the integrity of the ice-sheet fields?' If the Antarctic ice sheet melted entirely, it would raise global sea levels by about 58 metres. In 2020, an article in the journal Nature estimated that even a 1-metre rise would put '48% of the world's land area, 52% of the global population and 46% of global assets' at risk of flooding. 'It can't be left to a small group of countries to make decisions about Antarctica,' says Cullinan, who helped to draft the 2010 Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth and co-founded the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. 'If human beings lived there, who were indigenous to Antarctica, they would have a government who could represent them in climate change negotiations or biodiversity conventions. And that government would be a powerful voice, because Antarctica and the Southern Ocean covers a 10th of the surface of the planet.' But Antarctica has no voice, he says. 'It's not represented in these decision-making bodies – and the countries that govern it under the ATS still argue from a national perspective, and take decision-making positions for their own national interests, while scientists and other people who really love Antarctica and are deeply committed to protecting it get blocked.' Related: 'He took five bullets and returned to work on plankton': the double lives of Ukraine's Antarctic scientists The Antarctica Declaration would, by contrast, recognise that all Antarctic beings have rights that humanity must respect and protect. People around the world are being invited to support it and declare a new legal status of 'personhood' for Antarctica. 'It could then be represented,' says Cullinan. 'It could have a seat at the table, it could initiate lawsuits or join lawsuits around the world to prevent further greenhouse emissions.' The award will help raise much-needed awareness about the Antarctica Declaration, he adds. 'It will bring this initiative to the attention of people in a way that would have otherwise taken us years to achieve, and connect us to a network of polar explorers and Antarctic experts we can perhaps persuade to join us. 'We've got a very strong core group, but we need to build a global movement around this – we need to show that Antarctica is everybody's concern.'
News24
19 hours ago
- News24
Man caught with slain cop's phone arrested for barbershop murder
Constable Khulani Chabangu, 29, was shot dead during a barbershop robbery in Mpumalanga on 30 May. A 25-year-old suspect found with a cellphone allegedly taken from the murdered officer has been arrested. A second suspect remains at large. A man found in possession of a murdered policeman's phone has been arrested by the Hawks in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, a week after the officer was shot dead during a barbershop robbery in Calcutta, near Bushbuckridge. Constable Khulani Chabangu, 29, was visiting a barbershop at around 23:00 when two armed men entered the premises and ordered everyone to lie down. Chabangu, who was off duty, was reportedly ordered to undress before suspects made off with his clothes and car keys. It is alleged they shot and killed him when he followed them outside the barbershop. The suspects then fled the scene in the officer's vehicle. Chabangu had been stationed at Volkrust police station. Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi said the suspect was arrested in Calcutta on Friday afternoon. Nkosi said he was found in possession of two cellphones. 'It is alleged that one of the cellphones was [stolen] during the murder of the police official,' Nkosi said. 'Further investigation was conducted that led the team to the suspect's friend's house. On seeing the police, the suspect's friend managed to evade arrest and vanished within the residential area. A search was conducted in the house whereby a handgun with [filed off] serial numbers and four live ammunition rounds were found.' Mpumalanga Hawks head Major General Nico Gerber said his members 'will not rest until all those behind the murder of our fallen hero are brought to book'. The suspect is expected to appear in the Calcutta Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of murder, business robbery, theft, car theft as well as illegal gun and ammunition possession.
