Credibility on top of NPA to-do list

Warning out to those who try to influence the office

Advocate Shamila Batohi has immense experience in the legal field. According to her LinkedIn profile, Batohi was legal adviser to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, from 2009 until her resignation recently.

In 1995, she was part of a high-level team appointed by Nelson Mandela to probe apartheid-era hit squad activities. She was also the first woman appointed director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, having also led the prosecution of Hansie Cronje, late captain of the Proteas, at the King Commission. During an interview for the position of national director of public prosecutions recently, Batohi said she was “quite comfortable” with her life in The Netherlands. She, however, told the panel that repairing the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) image and integrity necessitated that everyone in the institution be committed to work.

She further told the panel she believed one of the measures (to use to judge) the NPA should be the level of confidence South Africans have in the institution. She admitted that when an individual becomes a manager it is a “terrifying prospect”, but being a manager meant one needed to “inspire people”.

“To be a prosecutor, you are the voice of the victims in court, [and] being a prosecutor is just an incredible job. If we can ensure the NPA has credibility and trust, then I think we [would] have come a long way,” she said at the time. Without mentioning former president Jacob Zuma by name, who is alleged to have appointed people into her new position to watch his back, Batohi warned that everyone – from politicians to criminals – should not attempt to influence her office into taking sides.

Batohi will resume her new role as NPA boss in February.