The Justice Department has dismissed claims that it is blocking the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from accessing the Zondo Commission’s database.
Former officials of the commission and representatives from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development told Parliament that neither the NPA nor its Investigating Directorate (ID) were being prevented from accessing the commission’s archives.
During a briefing to the justice committee on Tuesday, the NPA and the department discussed the ongoing challenge of securing full access to the commission’s extensive database.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi informed MPs that the NPA had been requesting unrestricted access to the commission’s database for nearly four years as they work on prosecuting state capture-related cases.
She noted that while the Investigating Directorate in the NPA was granted “levels of access,” it still lacked the full access needed.
“The ID requires unhindered access to the archives of the state capture commission,” Batohi stated.
However, Director-General Doc Mashabane refuted this claim, saying, “We’ve never gotten a situation where specific information can be said to have been denied for whatever reason. Information is always provided.”
The department clarified that arrangements were made to train NPA officials on how to access information in the data centre, explaining that some of the data had not been submitted to the commission.
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