New prosecuting unit in the interest of all South Africans – AfriForum

On Tuesday afternoon Kriel officially welcomed Gerry Nel to the organisation as the head of its private prosecuting unit.

The reason for establishing the unit was based on the perception that the NPA was selective when it came to prosecuting matters. This was where the unit would step in. Its aim was to ensure that “all be equal before the law,” both Kriel and Nel said.

There were mixed reactions to the news, with some questioning why Nel – who had served in the NPA  for 36 years – decided to quit four years away from retirement, why he had given such short notice, and why he had chosen to align himself with AfriForum.

No parallel prosecutions

Nel will start his new job on February 1 and is expected to spend his first month rounding up a solid team of prosecutors and experts, before pursuing any matters.

No matter is too big or too small, and Nel has urged South Africans to come forward and seek assistance from the unit.

Each case’s merits would be studied before a decision is made on whether to go ahead with prosecution or not. Nel stressed that the unit would not run parallel prosecutions, but would only deal with matters which the NPA had opted not to pursue.

If the unit did not pursue any cases that would be a good thing because it would mean that the NPA was doing its job.

“We are fortunate that we have the power of civil society and we have more than 185 000 members who support us on a continuous basis that makes it possible for us to do this.

“They’ve made it possible for us in the past to take on governments, so we should not underestimate the power of civil society and we are confident that this will be sustainable,” Kriel said.

News24: 2017-01-31