Over the last few months, the words “private prosecution” have been making headlines, and it’s solely because controversial lobby group AfriForum launched the country’s first private prosecutions unit. But what exactly is a private prosecution? Well, in most cases, South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decides whether or not to go ahead with prosecuting someone. If the NPA rejects the case, the law does allow for someone to pursue a private prosecution, even though it isn’t specifically detailed in the Constitution. The two types of private prosecutions