There is now no doubt in the mind of much of the voting public that prosecutors need to act against those implicated in the Zondo Commission. Whether it be evidence related to the Guptas or Bosasa, it painted a picture of rampant corruption when given under oath and on live television and radio. Angelo Agrizzi, while admitting to being a racist, has given his evidence in a way that many people appear to believe what he has said, and expect action. Last week important evidence was given by former Free State MEC Mxolisi Dukwana against ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule. And through it all, it was, generally speaking, the name of the ANC that has been besmirched.

Understandably, demands for action were not in short supply. But, so far, the only response has been for some people linked to the Bosasa scandal to be charged for corruption, unrelated to evidence given at the Zondo Commission.

It appears Batohi, who has only been in office for a few months, is ready to rattle some cages. Various people have been re-arranged, and there is likely to be a general acceptance of her decision. The people she has appointed appear to have clean track records and are seen as likely to do the right thing.

Advocate Andrea Johnson will oversee cases emanating from the Zondo Commission, while Advocate Matric Luphondo now has a watching brief over its proceedings. Advocate Chris Macadam will liaise with the commission about its cases and Willie Hofmeyr returns to the Assets Forfeiture Unit after previously leading it for many years until his removal by then NPA head Advocate Shaun Abrahams.

However, that does not mean that opposition to Batohi’s plans within the NPA has disappeared. Like many organs of state, there has been a long period in which people were appointed to certain positions because of who they were aligned with. To change any such government organisation in a hurry will not be an easy task.

But, because of its hierarchal nature, the NPA may have a slight advantage. Legal decisions can be cut and dried, and under the NPA Act, the National Director of Public Prosecutions can make final decisions on which cases to prosecute. As a result, Batohi can simply keep overruling people to make sure that her will is enforced. That, of course, does not mean that people won’t play internal politics to delay proceedings or frustrate her in other ways. It should be remembered that the NDPP cannot institute charges; she can only overrule a decision to prosecute or not to prosecute.

News of Hofmeyr’s reappointment particularly was not welcomed by some. The NPA’s suspended head of Commercial Crimes, Advocate Lawrence Mrwebi tweeted in response to a news story about the appointment:

“Black man, you are on your own.”

Mrwebi is not alone. Both he and another Deputy NPA head, Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba, are awaiting the outcome of the inquiry into their fitness to hold office led by former Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro. While the outcome is not yet known, if they do lose, it is likely they will challenge every single decision on this process in court. This could delay, if not entirely derail, any sweeping plan Batohi might have, for a long time.

Considering the length of time both Jiba and Mrwebi were at the NPA, it is likely that they both have people loyal to them within the organisation. This is likely to make life difficult for Batohi.

And if should, by some miracle, the commission find in Jiba and Mrebi’s favour, this alone demonstrates that there will be massive infighting with the NPA were he to return from his suspension.

In the middle of all of this, Batohi and those whom she has appointed have to start making decisions.

There may be some people who believe there is enough evidence to lay charges against some people implicated in the Zondo Commission before the elections, and that that would have an impact.

At the moment, that actually seems unlikely.

First, legally speaking, the timing of the charging of someone should have absolutely nothing to do with the elections. Quite opposite, any charging of someone before the poll could have the impact of weakening the actual case against them. Even if Batohi were to charge someone for political reasons before the polls (and there is no evidence that she is politically minded at all, and plenty of evidence that she is fully independent), it would change nothing. The person charged would appear in court and almost certainly be granted bail. That person would then use the timing of their charging as evidence of a “political conspiracy” against them – in exactly the same way that former president Jacob Zuma claimed any charging in December 2007 (just days after the ANC’s Polokwane Conference) would have been linked to politics.

There is also not much evidence suggesting a charge before the poll would have much impact on the election. Most voters appear to have got used to someone being arrested and released, only for the trial to either simply not happen, or for the charges to somehow go away (in an interview about the arrest and release of an ANC Mayor in KwaZulu-Natal recently, one analyst likened it to a game of “catch and release”). In other words, more than arrests are needed to sway cynical voters.

However, what could turn out to be much more important is the internal impact in the ANC of the arrest and charging of certain people.

The levels of contestation between the various groups within the party have found expression in the contest over the national list of candidates for Parliament after the elections. The climax of this battle could be within the ANC in the days after the election. It is likely that various people will fight hard for their candidates. Because the stakes are so high, any kind of tactic could be deployed.

As a result of this, any action by the NPA against certain people could well weaken one group and strengthen another. So, for example, were ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule to be arrested, so he could enter that process in a weakened position; if other people from the “Zuma faction” were charged as well, the same would apply. This, of course, would substantially strengthen Ramaphosa and those around him.

For most people, the ultimate aim is an NPA that is not consumed by politics, that makes its decision based only on evidence and the law. This would be the most important first step towards uprooting corruption (in tandem with an independent, properly functioning police service).

The historian Professor Francis Fukuyama was in Johannesburg recently and made the point that instituting democracy in a country was relatively easy, and that maintaining some form of democracy was also not that difficult. What was much harder was the creation of a capable state, the building of the lasting institutions that actually provide proper services to its people.

The NPA is possibly the most important of these. Batohi’s recent appointments could well be seen as the first step towards that goal, after the decade and a half of political abuse. DM