Justice department and NPA deny ‘stand-off’ over state capture evidence

The justice department and the NPA have both denied reports of an alleged “stand-off” between them over access to “vital state capture evidence”, issuing separate statements in reaction to reports on the matter.

News24 on Wednesday reported an “impasse” between the justice department and the NPA after the former apparently stymied the NPA's efforts to gain full access to “essential evidence”, gathered by state capture commission investigators, which has now been lost due to maintenance failure.

The report further claims that the department has stalled on the permanent establishment of the Investigating Directorate (ID), making it difficult for the directorate to prosecute state-capture criminals.

Both the department and NPA released statements pouring cold water on the allegations. The department said it had “noted [the] misleading and factually inaccurate” report as it moved to clarify its relationship with the NPA.

“We wish to clarify that the co-operation between the ministry and ID remains cordial and professional. On July 31 2024, the ministry met a number of the entities of the department, and it pledged its unwavering commitment to support the work of the NPA and ID.

“The department is the legal custodian of all the assets of the commission, including the data centre, after the expiry of the term of the state capture commission. The department holds these assets on behalf of the [state and] established a residual mechanism to deal with remaining matters of the commission.”

The department went on to say: “The commission continues to supply and support all law enforcement agencies and other entities with data and information, as and when requested. Further, there is a secretariat that continues to manage the data centre and support all law enforcement agencies and other entities in accessing the database.”

The department added that to “ensure effective utilisation of the data”, it had trained 20 NPA investigators and provided them with direct access to the commission's digital forensic platforms.

Furthermore, the commission's secretariat has “consistently supplied the requested data and documents”, not just to the ID, but also the Hawks, Special Investigating Unit and financial intelligence centre, among others.

In a brief media statement, the NPA said that it “continues to engage” execs from the commission's digital lab and had “expressed that lack of access to the lab hampers the ability of the ID to deal with state capture cases.

“However, the issue of the access to the lab is primarily a technical one, being handled between the NPA and justice department officials. The previous and current ministers have been engaged and committed to attend to it expeditiously.”

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