Advocate Adrian Mopp says some young prosecutors don’t want to read anymore, they want to watch TikTok videos.
Mopp said this is a trend he believes is undermining the quality of prosecutions and must be urgently addressed if he is appointed as South Africa’s next National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
He said this before the interview panel in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Deeper capacity problems within sector
Mopp said this shift in work culture reflects deeper capacity problems within the prosecution service.
He proposed bringing back retired, experienced prosecutors to mentor regional court staff. To also conduct in-person assessments to strengthen performance where it is most needed.
Managers, he said, are too overburdened to provide the level of guidance the system currently lacks.
Mopp, who has served on national task teams and major prosecutorial engagements, said he was confident in his ability to lead the NPA.
“I will not be star-struck by the big names because this is not a step too far for me. I lie awake at night worried about the future of our country. And …I am in the prosecution service because I want to make a difference,” he stated.
Troubling picture of criminal justice system
He warned that recent developments at the Madlanga Commission and in Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee paint a troubling picture of the criminal justice system.
“There is work to be done. Our people must have confidence in our ability to bring real change.”
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi challenged him directly on the Western Cape’s performance. She noted that the region has an 8.1% postponement rate. It ranks at the bottom for murder convictions at 78%, with even weaker results in sexual offences. The latter is an area that President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national crisis.
She asked how the public could be assured that poor provincial performance would not become a national problem if he were appointed.
Mopp acknowledged the statistics. But he said they reflect systemic challenges, particularly the quality of evidence supplied by law enforcement.
Systemic challenges within police
“It is the quality of the evidence,” he said.
“We have been engaging police and metro police to improve evidence collection. We need a different approach.”
He emphasised the impact of gang violence on conviction rates in the province.
“A lot of the murders in the Western Cape are gang-related. In many of these cases we cannot link charges to specific accused persons. We don’t even know who the perpetrator is. That is our reality.”
While noting that the province formally meets its prosecutorial targets, Mopp admitted this is not translating into safer communities.
“We achieve our targets, yes, but it is not having the desired impact.”
