AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has sent a letter to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) demanding a decision be taken on former deputy national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba within two weeks. The letter was sent on December 5.

Failing this, AfriForum’s CEO, Kallie Kriel, said: “The organisation will submit a mandamus application to compel the NPA to issue a nolle prosequi certificate.”

In 2017, it announced it would commence a private prosecution against Jiba because it said the NPA had said it could not implement the court’s ruling that the case be put on the roll again.

Now, Nel said, AfriForum “is ready to prosecute as soon as the certificate is issued”.

The lobby group is also considering a private prosecution against EFF leader Julius Malema in the On-Point Engineering case should the NPA refuse to prosecute.

“This decision was taken after AfriForum’s announcement that its unit had served a mandamus application on the NPA and the minister of justice to force the NPA through the court to take a decision on whether to prosecute Malema,” Kriel said.

Last month, the NPA announced it would be taking On-Point Engineering to court over fraud allegations linked to a tender scandal.

It is alleged Malema had benefited from this, but the NPA said it would not be prosecuting him yet.

AfriForum said the letter to the NPA detailed why this decision was irrational and conflicts with evidence.

“The Private Prosecution Unit was founded to ensure the principle of equality before the law is upheld and selective prosecution does not happen,” Kriel said.

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