Prosecutions alone ‘won’t end corruption’ - Batohi

In November 2017, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela recommended that then-president Jacob Zuma appoint a commission of inquiry into state capture.

The commission resulted in the arrest of at least 37 suspects, while more than 2241 witness statements have been obtained for state capture-related cases.

Speaking at the Role of Oversight and Compliance Bodies in State Capacity Building Conference on Monday, Batohi says criminal investigations and prosecutions are important but insufficient.

"It would be comforting indeed to believe that prosecuting 50, 100 or even 1,000 beneficiaries of corruption and their accomplices would vanquish corruption and restore integrity. But, while prosecutions are essential, it is not enough.

"The truth is, we cannot prosecute our way out of corruption. Criminal investigations and prosecutions are important but never sufficient. This truth is true for at least three reasons.

"First, investigating and prosecuting high-level corruption is notoriously slow and uncertain. Powerful persons usually keep themselves a distance from obvious criminality, and their defence teams exploit every procedural device to delay and discredit cases against them.

"Secondly, even successful prosecutions, because they focus on specific individuals and specific acts, leave systemic corruption in place and allow new crooks to enter and profit from it. And thirdly, perhaps most fundamentally, prosecutions are brought from the outside, from outside these corrupt departments and ministries.

"While they are institutional practices and cultures that still perpetuate corruption, it can only be reformed from the inside. So without a committed and ethical leadership team inside corrupt institutions actively reforming the culture, prosecutions alone will not shift it."

Batohi added that oversight bodies are an important cog in the fight for accountability.

"Without improved compliance by government entities, we will struggle to build a capable and developmental state. A capable state is not only about the professional quality of public servants and the efficiency of institutions. It must also be an ethical state, driven by the constitutional values and the principles of the public administration and the rule of law, focused on realising the rights of our citizens and delivering on what we heard about our constitutional promise of a better life for all.

"Our recent history is a stark reminder of what can happen to the rule of law when it is not protected. The state capture era was a disaster for our country, especially as a decimated institution of justice and accountability. 

“State capture was an attack from the inside, a stealthy and lethal attack, a war waged on the rule of law by the very people whose job it was and who also swore an oath to protect and promote it, including the past leadership of the NPA, various oversight bodies like Parliament as well, and other law enforcement entities."

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