Johannesburg — THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) turned 10 this year, but it has not been easy going. It is an important milestone, but this was also the year in which the NPA was dogged by myriad challenges that have left it licking its wounds -- it was labelled counterrevolutionary, among other things.

The stakes are very high indeed. We are now faced with the real prospect of national director of public prosecutions Vusi Pikoli being relieved of his duties within the first four years of his 10-year contract. We are yet to have a national director who has served a full term.

When it was established by an act of Parliament in 1999, the Directorate of Special Operations, dubbed the Scorpions, was the "darling of the day" as the world took notice of the fight it was taking to complex organised crime and corruption. Its slogan -- loved by the people, feared by the criminals, respected by its peers -- summed up its position. It was never meant to be nice to criminals, nor could it be expected that those who felt the Scorpions' sting would praise them.

The unit's successes were trumpeted locally and abroad, and the government received glowing accolades for its bold attempt to deal with complex organised crime by seamlessly combining expert investigative skills with prosecution.

This year, its death knell was sounded and we are now preparing for the "funeral" of the Scorpions. They are to be replaced next year by the newly formed Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, and we can only hope the new unit will take this fight to new heights.

Never before has the question of the independence of the NPA been thrust so forcefully into the public glare as with the events that led to the appointment of the Ginwala commission and beyond. The much-publicised Chris Nicholson judgment also cast aspersions on the relationship between the executive and the national director of public prosecutions and NPA. As commission chairwoman Frene Ginwala pointed out, there were no precedents for this. For the first time, the provisions of the NPA Act on the role and responsibilities of the national director, and the circumstances under which he can be removed from office, were seriously tested.

With the decision by President Kgalema Motlanthe to relieve Pikoli of his duties, despite the commission's recommendation to the contrary, this matter remains one of disagreement among politicians and political analysts, legal and constitutional experts alike.

Whichever way the die is cast for Pikoli, the NPA remains proud of his leadership. He has led with pride, dignity and passion. His integrity has been found to be "unimpeachable", to use Motlanthe's description of his character.

Amid all these challenges, the NPA has had to continue to operate in the courts and fulfil its obligations to the public. The acting national director, Mokotedi Mpshe, capably steered this ship in stormy seas. He has often lamented the debilitating effect a lack of leadership can have in an institution of such importance, with a large number of senior management in acting positions. Notwithstanding this challenge, the NPA forged ahead. A number of difficult court matters were skilfully prosecuted, among them the cases of Najwa Petersen, Johan Nel and Sheldean Human.

At the start of this financial year, there were 343126 finalised cases. The conviction rate was about 86%, due to a more focused approach to pretrial processes. The conviction rate for sexual offences in dedicated courts was 64%, which compares respectfully with international prosecution authorities.

The Office for Witness Protection reported no witnesses harmed for the seventh year in a row, while protecting 428 witnesses and their families.

The value of assets forfeited for the year until March was more than R127m, with more than R45,5m paid to the Criminal Assets Recovery Account -- the highest amount in one year.

We look forward to the next 10 years to see how they compare against the first decade of the NPA's existence. We continue to work in interesting times.

Makeke is executive manager: communications, at the NPA.