A warm welcome in deed to all my continental colleagues, friends and ardent supporters the world over to this unique and first Africa Prosecutors’ Association project developed and implemented as a communication mechanism and a means of sharing the Association’s tenets, principles and objectives; sharing expertise and African solutions, leveraging resources, functional systems, practical strategies and African best practices to combat and stamp-out crimes of whatever type and or complexity across our beloved continent.

To these ends, our web-site is herby a means [and not an end in itself] to usher our best kept secret --- the Africa Prosecutors’’ Association, formed in 2003 to encourage unity and uniformity in Africa on matters relating to prosecutions, crime prevention, offender accountability as well as the inter and intra-country harmonization of legal frameworks and systems for ease of prosecutions within our individual member countries and across borders, as in deed, crime knows no boundaries.

It will interest you to know that the APA’s humble beginnings and journey was started by a few forward-looking African Prosecutors during March 2003 in Durban, South Africa culminating in the 1^st APA Conference and AGM, attended by 22 representatives from 6 member countries in Windhoek, Namibia during August of the same year. The APA’s 2^nd Conference and AGM, attended by 35 representatives from 16 member countries were held during August 2004 in Maputo, Mozambique. This 2^nd APA Conference and AGM culminated with 2 celebrated milestones, viz. the adoption of the APA’s Interim Constitution and the election of the APA’s EXCOM.

During July 2005, Equatorial Guinea hosted the 3rd Malabo APA Conference and AGM, attended by 20 representatives from 9 member countries and, during July 2007, Angola hosted the 4th Luanda APA Conference and AGM, attended by 43 representatives from 23 member countries excluding approximately 50 participants from Angola alone. This 4th APA Conference and AGM saw the re-election of the APA’s EXCOM and, culminated with the adoption of the Luanda Declaration.

Programmatically, the APA’s 2008 Work-plan is exciting as, for starters and over and above the APA Conference and AGM, it promises hope for 5 selected SADC countries earmarked to introduce one of Africa’s BPM --- the TCC Model which has since found expression in the UN-SG’s Reports and have since been shared with the AU as well as approximately 38 African countries. 

Stay tuned and continue enjoying our APA Web-site as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. Ps* The 5^th APA Conference and AGM will be hosted by South Africa early in November 2008.  All our member and interested African countries are invited and here is hoping against all odds, to see you all then, for you to be part of an African value adding experience to our anticipated discourse towards “protecting prosecutorial integrity and ensuring justice within our communities as well as for the vulnerable”.

Advocate Mokotedi Joseph Mpshe
Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Republic of South Africa
President of the Africa Prosecutors Association