Did the Oscar Pistorius case mirror the principles of the constitution and the NPA Act or were they seems as obstacles best avoided - In every jurisdiction there are guidelines, procedures, legislation that must be followed in pursuing criminal cases in the criminal justice system of that Jurisdiction. In ensuring Justice is practiced, it is imperative that what remains at it’s core are the concepts of transparency, equality, truth, what should remain noticeable in their absence are the notions of duplicity, bias and prejudice. However what I have found in the Oscar Pistorius trial and the subsequent application for leave to appeal is a conglomeration of these two opposing and adversarial beliefs. The SA Code of Conduct by which Members of the National Prosecuting Authority are governed by was published in December 2010. It states clearly the practice that members of the NPA should follow and importantly a bench mark by which their actions should be judged. Therefore if you apply the practice of the NPA particularly within the Court Arena what should be evident is the practice of the Prosecutor and NPA should mirror this conduct and reflect the Principles laid out in the Code of Conduct. I would then question why the NPA dropped charges against crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and it took the work of a lobbing group to have them reinstated while at the same time the very same NPA are wanting to appeal the verdict and sentence for CH made by a very competent, experienced Judge in the Oscar Pistorius case. Could this transparency they are obliged to demonstrate be a reflection from the smoking mirrors that may well adorn the walls in the corridors of their buildings. ( timeslive.co.za/local/2014/12/05/suspended-crime-intelligence-boss-richard-mdluli-to-face-murder-charge-in-2015 timeslive.co.za/local/2014/12/05/suspended-crime-intelligence-boss-richard-mdluli-to-face-murder-charge-in-2015) The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 states that National legislation must ensure that the prosecuting authority exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice.’ The National Prosecuting Authority Act Section that NPA are governed by provides that: A member of the prosecuting authority shall serve impartially and exercise, carry out or perform his or her powers, duties and functions in good faith and without fear, favour or prejudice and subject only to the Constitution and the law.’ How then can the NPA and Nel reconcile their failure to call key witnesses such as Van Aard and Botha as demonstrating an enforcement of the law without fear, prejudice and favour. Similarly the inception of the phrase ‘murder of Reeva Steenkemp’ is in fact the complete antipathy of this principle of non prejudice as it denotes not only a disregard for the original verdict but also a belief that somehow these principles do not apply to them. If on the other hand the rumours are true that the word murder was in fact a non intentional typo, it raises serious questions about the competence of the lead prosecutor that seems incapable of remembering the verdict in the case or seems so careless in his work to allow such typos go unchecked. This ability to act without favour or prejudice is further called into question if members of Reeva’s immediate family are indeed correct in their comments regarding hearing Nel saying numerous times that Oscar did in fact know it was Reeva in the toilet. If this is the case, such statements from a prosecutor would seem unprofessional, bias, prejudice which is in contrast to the principles of the Act he is expected to follow and practice. The Act further require prosecutors to ‘ take into account all relevant circumstances and ensure that reasonable enquiries are made about evidence, irrespective of whether these enquiries are to the advantage or disadvantage of the alleged offender;’ Again I remain at a loss how this can be reconciled with what was evident in the trial, that ear witnesses were simply not called although the proximity to Oscar’s house was closer and it would seem this failure to call them was nothing other than they contradicted the States preferred version. Similarly the Act requires that the NPA take into consideration the public interest as distinct from media or partisan interests and concerns, however vociferously these may be presented; I would suggest that given the leaks by the police to the media that created a media frenzy, the televising of the trial, the reliance by the State on media reports and using these media reports in an attempt to deny Oscar bail that the blurring of these two diametrically opposed stances was so apparent that they merged significantly into one. It seems incredulous that an organisation that exists for the very purpose to promote Justice, can fail to -: call key witnesses at a trial, allow a media frenzy to go unchecked and use those very media reports within the trial to serve their own purposes, lose important evidence, selectively consider what aspects of evidence they will accept from their own witnesses to be considered in the HOA. consider a verdict arrived at by a competent Judge to be flawed, yet provide no reference to case law to demonstrate why. Seek to overturn legal precedents so leave to appeal can be granted What then needs to be considered is how these actions can be reconciled with the knowledge that it took a lobby group to have charges reinstated against a former crime intelligence boss as mentioned previously. It is the duty of the NPA to assist the court to arrive at a just verdict and, in the event of a conviction, an appropriate sentence based on the evidence presented. It would seem however that there is no reference to accepting a just verdict based on the evidence presented and that despite the States submission of selective evidence, the Court found the crime Oscar was guilty of was CH not murder but of course the State would seem to view this verdict as a minor hiccup in it’s plans to secure a murder conviction. I can’t help but wonder and question whether there are actual hard copies of the Constitution and Act readily available to members of the NPA to read, study and apply or are they simply used and viewed as door stops during the hours of load shedding as a form of air conditioning.- Dee
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 12:58:39 +0000
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