The Black Lawyers Association (BLA) has backed the call from the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (DJCD), Mmamoloko Kubayi, who has suggested mandatory lifestyle audits for all prosecutors to safeguard the integrity of the country’s justice system.
The BLA stated that it is essential to subject prosecutors to lifestyle audits, considering that the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture had raised significant concerns regarding the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The association stated that this will assist in identifying corrupt elements within the NPA.
While welcoming what she described as a transparent process to appoint the next National Director of Public Prosecutions during her interview with the SABC on Sunday afternoon, Kubayi raised concerns about the internal weaknesses within the prosecuting authority, warning that they undermine public confidence.
She said there is a need for prosecutors to be subjected to lifestyle audits, arguing that those who live beyond their means, pose a serious risk to the institution and its credibility.
Kubayi made these remarks amid ongoing efforts to strengthen the NPA after years of governance challenges, with her department under pressure to restore public trust and improve the success rate of high-profile prosecutions.
She emphasised that rebuilding the NPA requires integrity at every level, from senior leadership to junior officials, and ensuring a strong focus on performance and accountability.
Kubayi questioned why the NPA had not proactively introduced lifestyle audits, adding that resistance to such scrutiny should be viewed as a warning sign.
This comes after she recently announced in a response to parliamentary questions that the NPA and DJCD are set to conduct lifestyle audits on all senior managers when “red flags” are picked up during the financial disclosures process done within the public service.
In its final report in 2022, the Zondo Commission found that the NPA was systematically weakened through the strategic appointment of pliable individuals and the dismissal of those who resisted State Capture, which led to a “deliberate effort to subvert and weaken” the agency at commanding levels to ensure that those involved in corruption faced no consequences.
Last year, outgoing NDPP Shamila Batohi faced intense political and parliamentary scrutiny following her public claims that the NPA had been “infiltrated” by corrupt elements. She claimed that “unscrupulous prosecutors” were working with criminals to deliberately sabotage high-profile cases.
During her appearance before the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee, she confirmed that she had received classified intelligence from a national agency regarding a prosecutor allegedly involved in organised criminality, which is linked to the ongoing Nkabinde Inquiry into the fitness of Advocate Andrew Chauke, the suspended South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions, to hold office.
Chauke is accused of making politically motivated decisions in high-profile cases following his refusal to charge former intelligence head Richard Mdluli for murder and his withdrawal of other charges against him.
BLA general secretary Johannes Ramathe said that although the association does not believe that the NPA is infiltrated, the information presented before the Zondo Commission and the Nkabinde inquiry is evidence that certain elements should be subjected to investigation.
Political analyst Zakhele Ndlovu said that there is no doubt that the NPA and the criminal justice system have been infiltrated, adding that it makes sense for prosecutors to be subjected to lifestyle audits.
“It’s an open secret that people in positions of power are easily corruptible. Just look at the Aka case (musician Kiernan Forbes, who was shot outside a restaurant on Florida Road in Durban). And also, look at the failure to prosecute those implicated at the Zondo commission,” he said.
Governance expert and political analyst Sandile Swana echoed the sentiments, saying the NPA has been infiltrated by corrupt elements who are working for criminal syndicates and cartels, who are also working for influential politicians to confuse and divert cases.
Swana said these corrupt elements also work for personal gain, including financial benefits.
However, Kubayi, through her spokesperson Terrence Manase, said her suggestion of lifestyle audits should not be interpreted to suggest that the NPA is infiltrated by individuals seeking to undermine the rule of law.
She said, as previously indicated in response to a parliamentary question, that the issue of lifestyle audits is located within a broader societal context in which corruption remains a serious challenge across both the public and private sectors.
“The Minister does not hold the view that the NPA, as an institution, is infiltrated by people undermining the rule of law. Her comments relate to the need for continuous vigilance against individual unethical conduct, which can arise in any institution operating within a society affected by corruption.”
