Pikoli says ministers questioned NPA's decision to prosecute unresolved TRC cases

Former National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli said several cabinet ministers questioned the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s decision to pursue prosecutions related to unresolved Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases.

Pikoli is testifying at the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into delays in prosecuting TRC-referred cases, currently underway in Johannesburg.

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He told the inquiry that the prosecution of suspects linked to an attempted poisoning of cleric Frank Chikane became a key test of the government’s political will to pursue apartheid-era crimes.

He said a month after the matter went to court, he was suspended and an inquiry into his fitness to hold office established.

Testifying for the second day on Friday, Pikoli said there seemed to be resistance from the government to have TRC cases probed, as investigators were not made available to assist with the cases.

He also linked his suspension to his decision to go ahead with the prosecution in the Chikane case.

Pikoli was suspended in September 2007 by then-President Thabo Mbeki, triggering the establishment of the Ginwala Commission of Inquiry to determine his fitness to hold office.

He was, however, cleared of any wrongdoing.

Pikoli told the commission that in the lead-up to his suspension, there had been meetings with the ministers of social development, safety and defence, where concerns were expressed about proceeding with the cases and particularly Advocate Anton Ackerman’s involvement in the prosecution.

“The minister of social development was concerned about the impact of the decision to prosecute on the ranks of the ANC [African National Congress] cadres who were worried that a decision to prosecute in the Chikane matter would then give rise to a call for prosecution of the ANC cadres themselves arising out of their activities pre-1994.”

He added that his decision to prosecute in the Chikane matter was later included among the allegations against him at the Ginwala inquiry, but was eventually withdrawn.