President Cyril Ramaphosa has established a panel that will select the country’s next national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), who will succeed Shamila Batohi. Her term expired at the end of January.
According to presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, Batohi’s successor will be identified through an open and transparent process that reflects the importance of “this vital position in our democracy”.
Ramaphosa has appointed the minister of justice and constitutional development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, as chair of the panel, said Magwenya.
The panel, he said, comprises the chair of the SA Human Rights Commission, chair of the Commission for Gender Equality, the auditor-general of SA, chair of the Public Service Commission, a representative of the Black Lawyers Association as well as a representative of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers.
“President Ramaphosa has decided to follow the same open and transparent process that led to the appointment of the current national director of public prosecutions,” Magwenya said.
“Batohi’s term of office comes to an end in January 2026. President Ramaphosa considers the national director of public prosecutions a vital position in our democracy that makes an essential contribution to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the efficiency and integrity of law enforcement.
“The NDPP must ensure that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice and should not be beholden to any vested interests, whether in politics, in business or elsewhere,” he said.
The NDPP needs to be able to take decisions independently and impartially, said Magwenya, and it was for that reason that Ramaphosa had mandated the panel to call for nominations through an open and transparent manner, conduct shortlisting, interviews, ensure vetting of suitable candidates, and submit the names of three suitable candidates with a detailed report on suitability of the individuals to the president for consideration.
“The panel is required [to submit] its final report with recommendations to the president within three months of the appointment of the panel,” he said.
When Batohi was appointed to the position in 2018, she became the first woman NDPP.
At the time of her appointment, it was noted that the NPA was plagued by leadership instability and a decline in public confidence in the institution.
Ramaphosa said her appointment was a response to the “state of dysfunctionality and deficiencies in the NPA that were identified by the Constitutional Court”.
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