A former prosecutor was sentenced to five years in prison for trying to prevent an illegal immigrant being prosecuted and deported.
KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Ntokozo Mzulwini, 36, was convicted for defeating the ends of justice while working as a district court prosecutor in October 2022.
“He had been assigned to prosecute an accused, Mr Khan, who was charged as an illegal immigrant in contravention of section 49 of the Immigration Act.
Upon conviction, this offence would necessitate deportation to the accused’s country of origin, Malawi, and did not allow for the option of an admission of guilt fine in terms of section 57A of the Criminal Procedure Act.
However, Mzulwini falsely represented to the control prosecutors that Khan had contravened the Refugees Act, which relates to the expiration of a refugee permit and permits the payment of an admission of guilt fine without deportation.
He then prepared incorrect documentation, despite evidence in the docket confirming Khan was not a refugee but an illegal immigrant.
However, an eagle-eyed control prosecutor, to whom he had submitted the document for authorisation, spotted the discrepancy, refused to authorise the admission of guilt documentation, destroyed the incorrect documents, and instructed Mzulwini to proceed with the matter correctly in court under the immigration act.
Despite these instructions, Mzulwini redrafted the incorrect documentation and approached a second control prosecutor, repeating the same misrepresentations.
The second control prosecutor, unaware of the earlier intervention, authorised the admission of guilt documentation.
Khan subsequently paid the fine and was released.
Ramkisson-Kara said that later that day, the two control prosecutors discussed the matter, and discovered Mzulwini’s misrepresentation.
“The admission of guilt was reversed, and Mr Khan was brought back before the court and correctly charged. The matter was reported to the police, and Mzulwini was arrested.”
Prosecutor Sphelele Ndlela led the testimony of both control prosecutors and submitted documentary evidence, including records from home affairs, the original charge sheets and the altered documentation prepared by Mzulwini.
The court sentenced Mzulwini to five years’ direct imprisonment and declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
Mzulwini was also subjected to internal disciplinary processes and was dismissed.
An arbitration dispute regarding his dismissal is currently under way under the auspices of the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council (GPSSBC), and the NPA will continue to participate in that process.
The director of public prosecutions welcomed the conviction and sentence, expressing hope that it will serve as a deterrent to others.
“Prosecutors, particularly those in supervisory roles, are encouraged to strengthen oversight mechanisms to ensure early detection and prevention of misconduct,” the NPA said.
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