How Mothibi can succeed as the new prosecutions boss

 ADVOCATE Andy Mothibi’s track record, especially as the head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) can hardly be questioned, making him more than capable of taking over from outgoing National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi. 

What that role requires more than ever is someone with enough credentials to bring the much-needed stability and consequence management. As the head of the SIU, Mothibi ticked those two important boxes with ease. He leaves the SIU in a much better place than it was when he took over. 

On the other hand, the NPA is in shambles, having failed to make any meaningful difference, especially with State-capture related cases. What Batohi has not been lacking is excuses for failing to record successes in high-profile cases.

Mothibi’s commendable work at the SIU is something that he would be expected to emulate at the NPA. Yes, there are questions about his age (63) but his is to lay the foundation for the next person that will eventually take over from him. 

One of the cases that he must approach with the same energy as he did as SIU head is the looting of more than two billion rands from Tembisa Hospital, a saga that implicates President Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew Hangwani Maumela from a previous marriage.

While Ramaphosa has distanced himself from Maumela, the country’s law enforcement agencies including the NPA cannot afford not to dig deeper into this scandal. They must also investigate Maumela’s political connections, if any,  that may have enabled him to score contracts from that hospital. 

To say Mothibi has his work cut out would be an understatement. The task of rebuilding what Batohi couldn’t will be one filled with many setbacks. Perhaps, the defining moments for him may be some of the cases he undertook to investigate at the SIU.

We therefore urge Mothibi to avoid the temptation of being embroiled in political squabbles that eventually destroyed his predecessors. South Africans have had enough of an NPA that continues to fail in the most basic tests.  

Mothibi will only win when he delivers for ordinary citizens, not when protecting powerful individuals doing all they can to avoid facing  justice.

CAPE TIMES