{"id":100791,"date":"2025-09-24T11:41:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T09:41:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100791"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:41:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T09:41:36","slug":"countdown-pressure-mounts-as-npa-head-prepares-to-retire-without-successor-in-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/countdown-pressure-mounts-as-npa-head-prepares-to-retire-without-successor-in-sight\/","title":{"rendered":"Countdown Pressure Mounts as NPA Head Prepares to Retire Without Successor in Sight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 24 September 2025 | 08:45 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8The National Prosecuting Authority offices in Pretoria. (Picture: Michel Bega)<\/p><\/div>\n

For the first time since its inception in 1998, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will see a head of office leave without controversy. Current National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi, reaches the mandatory retirement age in January 2026. Yet, concern is mounting over the lack of clarity from President Cyril Ramaphosa on how her successor will be chosen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big job. It has always been treated as a political appointment, and the President has the prerogative to appoint anyone he deems fit and proper,\u201d said DA advocate Glynnis Breytenbach. While applauding former President Ramaphosa\u2019s open and transparent appointment process that brought Batohi into office, Breytenbach warned that no such process is currently legislated. \u201cWe are in September. By December the country slows down, and in January she leaves. We\u2019re running out of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Batohi\u2019s tenure is viewed as complex. Civil society and legal analysts agree she inherited a \u201ccompletely hollowed out\u201d institution. Breytenbach highlighted, \u201cShe can\u2019t be blamed solely for the NPA\u2019s failures. It\u2019s a team effort. But the optics are that the buck stops with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her supporters credit her for restructuring internal systems and rebuilding integrity in senior management. Yet, her critics point to the lack of successful prosecutions in state capture cases. \u201cSince the Zondo Commission, there hasn\u2019t been a conviction. High-level corruption matters have been very disappointing,\u201d Breytenbach added.<\/p>\n

Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of the Campaign for Free Expression, echoed the concern. \u201cIt is alarming that the President has not taken the nation into his confidence on this crucial appointment. The NPA is foundational to the health of our justice system, and the delay undermines public confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fritz described Batohi\u2019s legacy as \u201ccheckered,\u201d noting that while internal reforms were significant, \u201cfailures to secure prosecutions in high-profile cases, missteps in extraditions, and delayed action against compromised officials eroded trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

With just months remaining, the DA is proposing amendments to extend the retirement age of the NDPP to 75, aligning it with judges, thereby expanding the pool of candidates.<\/p>\n

Urgency now lies with the Presidency. \u201cWe do not have seven months for a drawn-out process,\u201d Fritz warned. \u201cThe public cannot afford further delays when the credibility of the NPA hangs in the balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Mouala Sulaimaan Ravat, DA advocate Glynnis Breytenbach and Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of the Campaign for Free Expression.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 24 September 2025 | 08:45 CAT For the first time since its inception in 1998, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will see a head of office leave without controversy. Current National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi, reaches the mandatory retirement age in January 2026. Yet, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/NPA.jpg?fit=1276%2C846&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qdF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 01:24:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}