Speeches

Address by Hon AC Nel, MP, Deputy Minister of Justice & Constitutional Development at the Graduation Ceremony for the 2023 Aspirant Prosecutors Programme on Monday, 10 March 2025 at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College, Tshwane

National Director of Public Prosecutions, members of the National Prosecuting Authority,
the graduates of the 2023 Aspirant Prosecutors Programme, compatriots.
I greet you all and I convey the warm greetings of Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

I kindly request you to rise and join me in reciting the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa:
We, the people of South Africa,
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to -

• Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
• Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
• Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
• Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

May God protect our people.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso.
God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa.
Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.

Reciting these words, and being mindful that today is a graduation ceremony, I recall the words of General Douglas MacArthur to the cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point. General MacArthur was one of the most decorated and celebrated American military leaders, one of only five in recent history to hold the rank of General of the Army, a Five Star General.

He was honoured with the Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1962. This is an extract from his acceptance address, titled: “Duty, Honor, Country”. I quote: “Duty, Honor, Country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.

Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

But these are some of the things they do:

They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense.

They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future yet never neglect the past; to be serious yet never to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

They give you a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of an appetite for adventure over love of ease.

They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.”

Today, we are here to celebrate you – the soon to be alumni of the 2023 Aspirant Prosecutors Programme – and what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be.

The hallowed words that are your rallying points, are found in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the preamble of which we have all recited here today.

These hallowed words include section 179 of the Constitution which provides that: “There is a single national prosecuting authority in the Republic” and that “the prosecuting authority exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice.”

Flowing from this constitutional mandate, the NPA, as the lawyers for the people, must:

• Deliver and serve justice, without fear or favour
• Promote a culture of public responsibility, accountability, and morality
• Ensure public confidence in the criminal justice system
• Contribute to growth of the South African economy
• Contribute to social development

At the funeral of Adv Rodney de Kock, whose absence still leaves a void in both our work and in our hearts, I recalled that when the ancient Roman Republic was under threat, the Senate would take a decision known as the Senatus Consultum Ultimum which read:

“Consules videant nequid respublica detrimenti capiat” or “Consuls, see to it that the Republic befalls no harm”.

I paid tribute to the many members of the National Prosecuting Authority who continue to stand firm in defence of our Republic, its Constitution, its laws and its people against crime, corruption and state capture – often at great cost to them, their careers, and their families.

You have taken the first steps to join their ranks. In doing so, you have opened a new chapter in your lives and your professions.

We are aware that these steps have not been easy. Many of you have had to overcome serious challenges to complete school, gain admission to university, and to complete your studies.

Gaining entry into this Aspirant Prosecutors Programme through rigorous exams and interviews was also not easy.

Staying the course through another year of training to be a public prosecutor, a lawyer for the people, also required hard work, discipline, and dedication.

That fact that you have come this far bears testimony to your character, your perseverance, and your commitment to serving our country and its people.

As prosecutors, you are legal professionals. However, you are also much more. You are our modern-day Consuls, defenders of our Republic, guardians of justice and the rule of law, lawyers of the people.

You ensure that justice is not only done - but seen to be done - and felt to be done by people in their daily lives.

However, justice is not only served by convictions but through due process and the rule of law, through people having an opportunity to defend themselves – and to be represented in court.

Prosecutors are not persecutors. They must be amongst the foremost defenders of the Constitution and the rule of law, by discharging their duties without fear, favour or prejudice.

Equally, you as lawyers for the people must ensure that the rights of victims of crime are respected and upheld, that victims and their families, especially the vulnerable, are treated with respect and dignity by the criminal justice system.

Our criminal justice system must never be a source of secondary victimization. This places an enormous responsibility on you. Remember that people are not dockets, and dockets are not people.

Criminal cases are referred to as The State versus XX. This is not just a convention buried in the mists of time. It has real meaning, and it places real responsibility on your shoulders.

What it means is that the citizens of our Republic have entrusted the State with the power
- and the responsibility - to act on their behalf in seeking justice and redress for wrongs committed against them, and the society that they form part of.

If citizens lose confidence in the power, the capacity, and the will of the State to discharge this duty, they will take justice into their own hands. In time this will result in the replacement of the rule of law by the rule of might - the law of an eye for an eye, the war of all against all.

For this reason, you must conduct yourselves in the most exemplary manner possible. You must always uphold the highest ethical standards, both in your professional and your personal lives.

Your family, your friends, your neighbours, your fellow worshipers, your community all know that you are a Public Prosecutor. All of them have eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds to think and judge your conduct. Their judgment, positive or negative, will reflect not only on you, but on the NPA, the justice system, and ultimately on the entire State.

As a Public Prosecutors, you will be working in the criminal justice system, a system in which each component is highly related and dependent on all others.

As a Prosecutor you will have to collaborate with the court personnel from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, investigating officers from the South African Police Service, public defenders from Legal Aid South Africa, and officials from the Department of Correctional Services.

Maintain good relationships with your counterparts. As the Golden Rule says: “Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you.”

Remember, in the eyes of the people when the system fails, everyone in the system fails. Co-operate and collaborate, don’t compete.

We trust the Aspirant Prosecutors Progress has encouraged a culture of lifelong learning in you. Criminals are continuously finding new ways to be criminals. In this age of ever more rapid technological development social media and artificial intelligence are being used to perpetrate or disguise criminal activity. You must always stay one step ahead. In the State of the Nation Address the President announced a digital forensics laboratory in partnership with the private sector. This is an important step in the right direction.

You have taken the first steps on your journey. It is not going to be an easy journey. You will experience both the very best, and the very worst in human behaviour.

You will experience the joy and satisfaction of knowing that you have served your country and your fellow citizens.

But you will also experience moments of doubt and anxiety when you will ask yourself whether you made the right decision by taking this path.

You will find it difficult to explain to your family and loved ones why you work the long hours that you do, why your colleagues in private practice live in bigger homes, drive faster cars, and wear flashier clothes. Sometimes you will have to answer the question: “Are you married to me, or to the NPA?”

Even more difficult and painful will be the sleepless solitary moments late at night when you must explain to yourself why you refuse to take bribes, or make dockets disappear when others around you do so with seeming impunity. You will have to explain to yourself why you are continuing to prosecute that powerful person who threatens to destroy your career.

It is in these moments that you must listen to those hallowed words that dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be, and remind yourself that you have answered a calling, not an advertisement.

The only reward for giving the right answer to these difficult questions is the knowledge that you have done the right thing, and ability to look at yourself in the mirror without having to avert your gaze in disgust at what you see before you.

We thank all the tutors and mentors, Chief Prosecutors, Deputy Public Prosecutors, and everyone who has supported the graduates that we are celebrating today. Though your time and effort you have made real the promise of the preamble to the Constitution, that we free the potential of each person.

Returning to what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be I, like General MacArthur, also do not possess that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor - and therefore I turn to the poet Oswald Mtshali and his poem Ukuzalwa kukaShaka / The Birth of Shaka.

The poem both describes the attributes we expect of our Public Prosecutors, as well as offering words of warning to the enemies of our Republic and its Constitution, both here and across the oceans:
Ukukhala kwakhe kwafana nokwewundlu lidabula intamo yebhubhesikazi
ngoba wayengenayise.
Izithixo
zabilisa igazi lakhe
okhambeni lobumba lomhlahlosi ogijima emithanjeni yakhe.

Inhliziyo yakhe yasikwa yafana nesihlangu senkabi
ukuze iphambe ithibe isitha.

Amadlozi alolonga imisipha yakhe
ayenza izingqotho eziqine njengegxolo lomtholo nemizwa
ehlaba njenge ngameva omqokolo.
Amehlo ayeyiziketekete
ezakhanyisa ezigodini ezimnyama zakwaZulu Wabona izinkonjane ezimhlophe
ziza ziwela ulwandle. Ukukhala kwakhe kubafowabo ababili bemsocoza wathi:

"Maye! Ningangibulala
Kepha ngeke nilibuse lelizwe!" In translation:
His baby cry was of a cub tearing the neck of the lioness
because he was fatherless.
The gods boiled his blood
in the claypot of passion to course in his veins.
his heart was shaped into an ox shield to foil every foe.

Ancestors forged his muscles into thongs as tough as wattle bark and nerves
as sharp as syringa thorns.

His eyes were lanterns
that shone from the dark valleys of kwaZulu To see white swallows
coming across the sea.
His cry to his assassin brothers:

"Lo! You can kill me
But you shall never rule this land!"

We wish you well on your journeys to what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be - and we thank you for your kind attention.