Ramaphosa to name NPA chief prosecutor today

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce the new head of the National Prosecuting Authority at the Union Buildings today.

Advocates Shamila Batohi, Siyabulela Mapoma, Simphiwe Mlotshwa, Rodney de Kock and Andrea Johnson were shortlisted from the original list of 11 candidates.

All five are credible and experienced lawyers and all of them were prosecutors and members of the Scorpions during the tenure of former president Thabo Mbeki.

Ramaphosa will hope the new NPA boss will bring some stability to the prosecuting authority after the Constitutional Court ruled the appointment of former NDPP Shaun Abrahams “illegal and unlawful”.

The presidency issued a statement yesterday saying that the announcement would be made at 2pm today.

“In October, President Cyril Ramaphosa invited a number of legal organisations and independent public institutions to help him identify and select individuals for consideration as possible candidates for the position of NDPP.

“This invitation formed part of the president’s effort to meet the deadline set by the Constitutional Court to appoint a new NDPP within 90 court days of August 13.”

In October Ramaphosa appointed a panel, led by Energy Minister Jeff Radebe, to help him select candidates for the position.

Batohi prosecuted disgraced Proteas captain Hansie Cronje.

Mapoma convinced the panel that he was the right person for the job despite not having appeared before the Concourt.

Mlotshwa was overlooked for the permanent position as KwaZulu-Natal director of public prosecutions, the panel heard, because he refused to withdraw fraud and corruption charges against two MECs, Mike Mabuyakhulu and Peggy Nkonyeni, who were linked to the multimillion-rand “Amigos case” involving Gaston Savoi and others.

De Kock, the Western Cape director of public prosecutions, Johnson, Gauteng’s deputy director of public prosecutions, are known for having put both former Western Cape police commissioner Arno Lamoer and former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi behind bars for corruption. Lamoer was sentenced to eight years in May this year after admitting to accepting “loans” from businessman Saleem Dawjee who also paid for his clothing and holidays. Dawjee was also jailed for eight years.

De Kock is one of South Africa’s longest-serving directors of public prosecutions while Johnson was part of Mbeki’s Priority Crime Unit (PCU) in the Scorpions in 2009.