Private prosecutions unit headed by Gerrie Nel has two cases in its sights

Six months after its launch‚ the Afrikaner interest group AfriForum’s private prosecutions unit has two potential cases in its sights.

The group’s CEO‚ Kallie Kriel‚ confirmed that the unit‚ headed by tenacious former state prosecutor Gerrie Nel‚ was preparing to pursue a criminal as well as a corruption case for private prosecution.

“One is a criminal case that has nothing to do with corruption and the other is a case of corruption in government. Unfortunately that is all I can say at this stage‚” he said.

Kriel said they were putting a lot of effort into preparing the cases‚ with an announcement planned in the next three months.

He said preparation was key as they will have 90 days to prosecute once the deeply compromised National Prosecuting Authority‚ which has hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons‚ issues nolle prosequi – a declaration the NPA has decided not to prosecute.

Kriel said the unit has received a lot of financial support from its members but said they also have other funding modes within the organisation to fulfil the unit’s mandate.

“We have enough resources to pursue private prosecutions in these two potential cases‚” he said.

Nel‚ who has earned the nickname “Pitbull”‚ in January dropped a bombshell with an announcement that he was leaving public service with just 24hours’ notice after 36 years as a state prosecutor.

More surprising was that the man who put disgraced athlete Oscar Pistorius and crooked former police commissioner Jackie Selebi behind prison bars was joining AfriForum‚ with speculation rife that he would work with private investigator Paul O’Sullivan‚ who was roped in by AfriForum last year to run its anti-corruption unit.

- TimesLIVE