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ANALYSIS
The decision by the High Court in Bloemfontein to lift the preservation order on R250-million worth of Gupta assets isn't only a warning that prosecuting Jacob Zuma's benefactors won't be easy, but a reminder of how troubled our criminal justice system is.
Judge Philip Loubser was pretty scathing in handing down the order, arguing that based on the evidence presented to it by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the prospect of a successful prosecution doesn't seem realistic.

After almost a decade avoiding corruption cases, neither the Hawks nor the NPA know how to prosecute graft anymore. No surprise they botched the Gupta case, again. I don't expect things to improve either. Impunity continues.
— Songezo Zibi (@SongezoZibi) May 29, 2018

The judge found that crucial documentary evidence was left out by Shaun Abrahams, national director of public prosecutions, that the money flows didn't convince him there was anything illegal, and that the state didn't fully disclose details of an earlier failed attempt to seize assets.
The net result is that the Guptas are smiling all the way to the bank, and the belief that they will be able to get away with this is reinforced. For the state — and President Cyril Ramaphosa's "new dawn" — it means that the focus should now fall squarely on fixing the broken, hollowed-out criminal justice system. Monday's judgment in Bloemfontein again emphasises the corrosive and destructive impact the Zuma decade has had on law enforcement.
But is the shambles at the NPA really such a surprise? Or at the Hawks or the police? Truth is, it has been a long time coming. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that something as high profile, as important, and as crucial as striking a blow against state capture came unstuck.

Trying to spin the #NPA's loss in the #GuptaAssets case isn't helpful. Such losses are in line with the disbandment of Scorpions & the weakening of commercial crimes units in police & NPA. The fight against organised crime & corruption has been weakened in the past decade.
— Makhosini Nkosi (@Makhosini) May 29, 2018

All three institutions, responsible for executing government's fight against crime, have been broken under Zuma's leadership. All three have been wracked by deep internal divisions, politicking and poor leadership. Cynics would, of course, argue that's exactly the way Zuma, himself the subject of criminal investigations, wanted it.
The NPA has been in the wars ever since then- national director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka in 2003 decided not to prosecute Zuma, even though there was "prima facie" evidence of corruption. When Vusi Pikoli was ousted as NDPP in 2008, it led in an era of constant upheaval and uncertainty, with a succession of political appointees running the organisation.
Menzi Simelane was appointed and then removed by Zuma (after a ruling by the Constitutional Court found his appointment irregular), while the term of Mxolisi Nxasana was beset by infighting with his deputy, Nomgcobo Jiba, who bitterly plotted his downfall.

Gupta Assets are all released. In other words freed. I am yet to see NPA win any case against Gupta, I have been following many cases of which all were won by the Guptas. We told you about White Monopoly Capital and their propagandist stooges. But we were called names pic.twitter.com/kqpVCXG5Tb
— Siyabonga (@Qwabe2323) May 28, 2018

Not to forget the destruction in 2008 of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), the Scorpions, which was located in the NPA and focused on complicated cases of corruption.
But even amid all this carnage, there surely has never been a more pliable political appointment than Shaun Abrahams, who threw in his lot with Zuma and attempted to thwart any and all efforts to prosecute the former head of state.
There have been many low moments for the NPA during his term of office, but one of the lowest must surely be the bombastic, self-important and spiteful announcement in October 2016 of his intention to prosecute Pravin Gordhan, who was minister of finance. "The days of disrespecting the NPA are over. The days of not holding senior government officials accountable are over," he famously said, before having to backtrack a few weeks later, while blaming a subordinate.
The NPA has been in crisis for years: convictions are low, budgets have shrunk, and the experienced prosecutors continue to leave. Ace prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach was forced out in 2013, and writes in her book "Rule of Law" about the institution that had been "hijacked by a band of thieves". She details the slipping of standards, such as prosecutors arriving late at court and being unprepared.
State capture was a massive, corrupt and destructive project. There needs to be accountability for ill-gotten gains, and the guilty need to go to prison. There won't be time to fix the NPA, Hawks and the police before the culprits are hunted. Those institutions will have to be fixed mid-flight, and soon.
Otherwise, the whole network might escape.

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