Simelane’s NPA ambitions hit by fierce political resistance

The candidacy of Advocate Menzi Simelane, shortlisted for a position to replace the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Shamila Batohi, has received stiff opposition.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has indicated that it will turn to court to interdict the appointment of any new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), as it deems the process flawed, while ActionSA  insists Simelane is "plainly not a fit and proper candidate."

The panel, headed by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, started with its interviews on Wednesday.

Six hopefuls are scheduled to be interviewed over two days. Simelane is last on the list, and he is due to be interviewed only on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the party warned that the ongoing process to appoint a new NDPP has gone badly off the rails.

“The panel set up to advise the president has chosen to interview Adv Menzi Simelane, a man already found unfit for this very office by South Africa’s highest court. It is impossible to overlook that history.”

She said the Supreme Court of Appeal, and later the Constitutional Court, struck down Simelane’s 2010 appointment on grounds that went to the heart of his honesty and integrity. Those judgments have never been overturned or softened.

“To make matters worse, he was found guilty of professional misconduct in 2017 for misleading the Ginwala Inquiry, and he now faces a striking-off application from the Johannesburg Bar Council. It is hard to imagine a more serious cloud over a candidate.”

Breytenbach added: “Yet the panel insists it is only interviewing people who meet the minimum requirements. Under the National Prosecuting Authority Act, ‘fit and proper’ is a minimum legal requirement. The claim by the panel collapses the moment Simelane’s name appears on the shortlist.”

She said that if he is treated as qualifying, then the process is irrational. And if the process is irrational, it is unlawful.

“On December 7, our attorneys wrote to the panel seeking reasons for Simelane’s inclusion: how did they conclude that he meets the minimum legal threshold, and did they consider the Bar Council application? The panel did not so much as acknowledge the letter.”

She explained that on December 9, the DA informed the president that this silence leaves the party no choice.

“Any recommendation that comes from this process carries the same legal defect. If the president appoints anyone from the panel’s recommendations, the DA will approach the court to interdict that appointment. We deserve a leader with credibility, independence, and courage. Not a re-run of a constitutional disaster,” Breytenbach said.

Athol Trollip MP, ActionSA Parliamentary Leader, stated, "Simelane, who is plainly not a fit and proper candidate, and whose inclusion is itself an indictment of a process intended to appoint the head of the NPA at a time when South Africa’s justice system urgently requires an unimpeachable steward to restore public confidence in the institution."

''Whether considering the adverse findings made against Simelane by the Johannesburg Society of Advocates or the findings of the Ginwala Inquiry, which held that he had misled the Inquiry and provided inaccurate and unreliable testimony, effectively calling his honesty and integrity into question, ActionSA cannot reconcile with the fact that Adv Menzi Simelane was shortlisted in the first place.

''To be clear, no candidate facing questions over their integrity can be considered fit for the position when what is required is someone beyond reproach."

Trollip added that ''the cumulative weight of adverse findings, inquiry reports, and the likelihood of being struck off the roll hanging over Adv Simelane makes it utterly implausible that a figure so compromised could be considered for the role of National Director of Public Prosecutions, a position that demands absolute integrity and credibility."

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