Mass Exodus of Experienced Prosecutors

Statement by Adv. Glynnis Breytenbach MP – DA Spokesperson on Justice and Constitutional Development:

The Democratic Alliance is deeply concerned by confirmed reports that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has entered into lucrative early retirement agreements with senior prosecutors, resulting in the departure of no fewer than 47 experienced prosecution staff members at the end of April this year. This represents almost the entire complement of truly experienced prosecutors.

If these reports are correct, the circumstances surrounding these departures raise serious questions about both the judgment and governance of the NPA’s leadership.

Most troubling is the allegation that these early retirement packages were approved without the informed consent of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, despite such consent being a legal prerequisite. If true, this would represent a serious breach of governance and a blatant disregard for established oversight mechanisms. It begs the question as to why any organisation, struggling as the NPA is, would take such questionable action.

The public deserves answers.

South Africa is not suffering from an excess of experienced prosecutors. The exact opposite is true.

For years, the NPA has cited capacity constraints, skills shortages, overwhelming caseloads, and the complexity of corruption prosecutions as reasons for its inability to secure convictions against those responsible for State Capture and large-scale corruption. The institution has repeatedly argued that it lacks sufficient experienced personnel to prosecute complex financial crimes effectively. We have noted, repeatedly, how these complex cases fail or are struck off the roll, never to be seen again, due to an obvious lack of experience.

Against this backdrop, the decision to facilitate the departure of dozens of senior prosecutors is not merely puzzling—it is incomprehensible.

Why would an institution battling severe capacity shortages voluntarily incentivise the departure of a large number of its most experienced personnel?

Why would an organisation that repeatedly pleads for additional resources choose to spend scarce public funds on lucrative exit packages?

And why would such decisions apparently be taken without securing the legally required approval of the Executive Authority?

The timing makes these developments even more alarming.

South Africans are still waiting for meaningful accountability for many of the principal actors implicated in State Capture and grand corruption. Despite years of promises, the number of successful prosecutions and convictions of major corruption figures remains woefully inadequate. High-profile prosecutions continue to be delayed, postponed, withdrawn, or bogged down in procedural disputes.

At precisely the moment when the NPA should be strengthening its prosecutorial capacity, retaining institutional memory, and building specialised expertise, it appears to be shedding some of its most valuable human capital.

Reliable information now suggests that a second round of early retirement offers may already be under consideration.

If this is true, the situation moves from concerning to reckless.

Every experienced prosecutor who leaves takes with them decades of accumulated knowledge, trial experience, institutional memory, and specialised expertise that cannot simply be replaced by new appointments. Building effective prosecutors takes years. Replacing senior advocates and experienced prosecutors is not a matter of filling vacancies; it requires long-term investment in skills development and mentorship.

The loss of dozens more experienced prosecutors would fatally weaken an institution already struggling to meet public expectations.

The NPA cannot simultaneously claim that it lacks sufficient capacity to prosecute corruption while actively reducing that capacity.

These contradictory actions undermine public confidence in the institution and raise legitimate concerns about its strategic direction.

The DA therefore calls on the National Director of Public Prosecutions to urgently provide a full public explanation regarding:

• The number of early retirement packages approved to date;
• The total cost to the taxpayer of these packages;
• Whether the required ministerial approval was obtained in every case;
• The rationale for permitting the departure of experienced prosecutors amid acknowledged capacity shortages;
• The identities and positions of those who have departed;
• Whether a second round of early retirement offers is being contemplated; and
• What impact assessments were conducted before these departures were approved.

South Africans have every right to expect that public funds will be used to strengthen the criminal justice system, not weaken it.

At a time when corruption continues to rob citizens of jobs, economic growth, functioning public services, and public trust, the NPA should be doing everything possible to retain and expand its pool of experienced prosecutors.

Instead, it appears to be paying them to leave.

The NPA owes the public an explanation as to how this extraordinary course of action advances the fight against corruption. On the face of it, the decision appears not only irrational, but profoundly damaging to the very institution tasked with holding the corrupt accountable.

South Africa cannot win the battle against corruption while simultaneously dismantling the ranks of those responsible for prosecuting it.