Profile - Reader3082332

Sars ‘rogue unit’ case is Shamila Batohi’s toughest

Tax au­dit: The SA Rev­enue Ser­vice head of­fice in Cape Town. Three former Sars of­fi­cials are ac­cused of in­volve­ment in a unit whose le­gal­ity has been the sub­ject of 11 dif­fer­ent re­ports. Their trial is set to re­sume on Oc­to­ber 14.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Shamila Batohi will be faced with arguably her most politically fraught decision since taking office in February when she reviews the prosecution of former SA Revenue Service (Sars) officials in the “rogue unit” saga.

The NPA has confirmed that all the accused in the rogue unit trial have appealed to her to drop the case. If she does, this will put her on a collision course with public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who has urged the state to “finalise the court process” against them.

Batohi’s office said she was asked to review the decision to prosecute Johan van Loggerenberg, Ivan Pillay and Andries Janse van Rensburg in June, and is expected to make a decision on the future of the case by October 14, when their trial is set to resume.

Batohi “needs to be clear on how the NPA proceeds on that date and for this she will consider the representations for review”, NPA communications manager Bulelwa Makeke told Business Day on Thursday.

Mkhwebane recently found that the establishment of the unit was unlawful and asked the police to investigate public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and other Sars officials for alleged violations of the constitution and the National Strategic Intelligence Act.

Gordhan, who was Sars commissioner when the unit was established, has launched an urgent court bid to review that report and stay the implementation of its remedial action. He is adamant that there was nothing unlawful about the unit.

In her report, Mkhwebane stated that she was “aware that there are currently criminal proceedings under way against implicated former Sars officials and that therefore effective steps should be taken to finalise the court process as the matter has been remanded several times”.

Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, said that since the mandate of NPA is different, the public protector could not comment on NPA processes.

It’s apparent that Batohi is very aware of the controversy that continues to surround the unit — whose legality has been the subject of 11 different reports

— and is doing all she can to ensure that her decision on the case can withstand scrutiny.

Makeke explained on Thursday that the NPA office set up to manage representations is gathering evidence linked to the case, which will be put before an expert advisory panel yet to be assembled by Batohi.

That panel will evaluate this evidence and make findings on whether the NPA has a reasonable prospect of success in the case. Batohi will make a decision based on these findings, as she did in evaluating the racketeering charges against former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Johan Booysen. Batohi elected to drop those charges this week.

Whatever Batohi decides will cause political waves. Just days into her term, she faced accusations from EFF leader Julius Malema that she was “too close” to Gordhan, who has in turn, accused the EFF of aiming to keep the “lie” of the rogue unit alive for its own purposes.

THE NPA OFFICE SET UP TO MANAGE REPRESENTATIONS IS GATHERING EVIDENCE, WHICH WILL BE PUT BEFORE AN EXPERT PANEL