Cape Town – National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Shamila Batohi has raised alarm that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is being infiltrated by individuals hostile to the rule of law.
According to The Citizen, this comes amid widespread criticism over the NPA’s handling of several high-profile cases, including:
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The Moroadi Cholota case, where false information was presented to US authorities, and the Free State High Court ruled it lacked jurisdiction.
The NPA is trending in South Africa because netizens are clamouring for the resignation or sack of National Director of Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, on grounds of persistent incompetence.
The latest call for the prosecutor’s removal follows a ruling by The Free State High Court… pic.twitter.com/ZFhTeilJFv
— Why It Is Trending (@trendingblog247) June 3, 2025
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The Timothy Omotoso sex trafficking trial and the Shepherd Bushiri extradition, both long-delayed.
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Failures in prosecuting the Estina Dairy case, Matshela Koko, Zizi Kodwa, and the Gupta brothers’ extradition.
Batohi denied interference from government officials but admitted to internal and external threats undermining the NPA’s integrity.
She expressed deep concern over these issues and said she plans to raise them with the executive.
“I have not had interference from any members of the executive whilst I have been the national director. But what I do want to say is that there are other issues that I can’t really speak about that actually makes me worry sometimes,” Batohi said during an interview with Newzroom Afrika on Thursday.
[ICYMI] National Director of Public Prosecutions Adv. Shamila Batohi says the NPA has been infiltrated by those against the rule of law. The NPA has recently come under fire over its handling of high-profile cases. While Batohi has denied interference from the executive, she says… pic.twitter.com/leLlFkJOEf
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) June 5, 2025
“That the NPA is actually being infiltrated by people that do not have the rule of law at heart. I don’t sleep comfortably at night because of that, not because I think that the NPA is a failing organisation…
“I am concerned about the attacks on the NPA, on the national director… It’s something that I’m going to take up very very seriously with the executive. We need to actually understand exactly what is going on and why it is sometimes so difficult to do this job.”
Appointed in 2018, Batohi vowed to rebuild the credibility and efficiency of South Africa’s troubled National Prosecuting Authority, IOL reported.
But six years later, critics say the NPA is still struggling, with major setbacks in key cases raising questions about its performance and damaging public confidence, the report said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
