Former Investigating Directorate boss Hermione Cronje, one of six candidates to take over as National Director of Public Prosecutions, told the interviewing panel that former national director Menzi Simelane is largely to blame for some of the troubles at the National Prosecuting Authority.
A seven-member panel, chaired by justice & constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, on Thursday concluded interviews for a replacement for Shamila Batohi, whose term as National Director of Public Prosecutions in the NPA expires at the end of January 2026.
The NPA has been criticised for poor conviction and prosecution rates in corruption cases resulting from the state capture commission. The commission, which was chaired by retired chief justice Raymond Zondo, was released three years ago and cost the state almost R1bn.
Cronje said Simelane and his deputy, Nomgcobo Jiba, had fuelled divisions within the NPA by seeking to influence the appointment of junior staff at the Asset Forfeiture Unit who would be loyal to them rather than unit head Willie Hofmeyr.
Cronje described the recruitment as “capture” within the NPA and said the people who were hired lacked the necessary skills.
She said NPA staff felt pressured to choose between Simelane, whose appointment by former president Jacob Zuma in 2009 was overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2012 on procedural flaws, and Hofmeyr.
Simelane, who is also seeking to head the NPA anew, told the panel his involvement was triggered by complaints from staff of racism in the unit because most of its staff was white.
Cronje said the NPA had a skills catastrophe. When asked whether she was exaggerating, Cronje said she wanted to draw attention to the issue because no one was listening. She believes it was a core issue affecting the NPA’s performance.
She described the years from 2009 to 2010 as “stressful being in the NPA” and this was during the disbandment of the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions).
In 2011, she left the NPA for academic development and returned in 2019 to head up the Investigating Directorate but then left for personal reasons and frustration as her plans were not aligning with NPA management.
She said she had to make space for Batohi to appoint an ID head aligned with her vision.
Cronje has left the NPA twice and was asked whether she would leave again after being appointed to the top position. She replied that she would not stay if the state would not support her vision financially, rendering her leadership ineffective.
“I have no intention of sticking around if there is no space for me to implement what I think needs to be implemented. I will work hard to get co-operation but I do not believe in sticking it out, especially in this environment,” Cronje said.
Simelane was the last candidate to be interviewed by the panel on Thursday. When questioned about the Asset Forfeiture Unit he said he had participated in recruitment for the unit after receiving complaints that it only had white staff and did not hire blacks.
Simelane said he spoke to Hofmeyr about the matter and was told the unit struggled to get skilled black professionals.
“I received an official complaint from the unit that Willie was racist. He said they [black professionals] were made to write an English test. I engaged with the officials that Willie was not racist. I said in the next set of interviews, I will come.”
Simelane said that during interviews they found suitable black candidates for the unit.
Kubayi said Simelane should not have sat in on the interviews because it was irregular.
“I take that,” he responded.
The DA has challenged Simelane’s candidature and had threatened to interdict the process.
He faces a court application by the Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA), seeking his disbarment based on its panel finding eight years ago that deemed him unfit and improper to remain an advocate of the high court, mainly based on his involvement in the suspension of former NDPP advocate Vusi Pikoli in 2007.
He was involved in the process during his tenure as director-general at the justice department.
The inquiry that probed Pikoli’s fitness to hold office, headed by chair Frene Ginwala, made adverse comments about Simelane and accused him of not declaring documents in the matter. She did make recommendations against him.
Simelane said Ginwala made several errors in her report but could not challenge the report, which the JSA finding is pinned on, because the inquiry did not make findings against him but merely comments.
“Everything [documents] that Ginwala said was not disclosed, was disclosed,” he maintained.
Simelane has pushed back against the JSA for taking eight years to bring the application in the high court.
He said the application appeared to be a pre-emptive move to hinder him from applying for the NDPP position.
“This issue has been unattended for 18 years,” he said.
He said no court found him unfit to practise, and the JSA litigation is without merit.
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