{"id":103011,"date":"2026-01-10T08:57:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103011"},"modified":"2026-01-10T08:57:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:57:32","slug":"surprise-ndpp-appointment-raises-questions-over-process-and-public-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/surprise-ndpp-appointment-raises-questions-over-process-and-public-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise NDPP appointment raises questions over process and public trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 Andy Mothibi, newly appointed NDPP, following President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s surprise announcement that has raised questions around the appointment process.<\/p><\/div>\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s late-night announcement appointing Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Andy Mothibi as South Africa\u2019s new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has sparked widespread debate and concern, particularly around the integrity of the appointment process.<\/p>\n

Mothibi, who was neither shortlisted nor interviewed during the recent NDPP selection process, will replace Advocate Shamila Batohi, who retires at the end of the month. In a media statement issued late last night, the President said the advisory panel had concluded that none of the six shortlisted candidates were suitable for the role.<\/p>\n

The unexpected decision has drawn criticism from civil society, with questions raised about transparency, fairness and the risk of perceived political bias. Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of the Campaign for Free Expression, said she was \u201csurprised\u201d by both the panel\u2019s conclusion and the President\u2019s subsequent appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was surprising that the panel came to the decision that none of the candidates were suitable, and then surprising that the President appointed Advocate Mothibi, who had not been part of the process,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging Mothibi\u2019s strong track record, Fritz noted that the SIU under his leadership had \u201cdone stellar work over the last couple of years,\u201d adding that everything in the public record suggests he has established \u201ca centre of excellence within our criminal justice sector\u201d.<\/p>\n

She cautioned, however, that the manner of the appointment could undermine public confidence. \u201cTo be fair to him, to the National Prosecuting Authority and to the public generally, he deserves a process of appointment that doesn\u2019t allow for perceptions of partisanship and bias,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n

Fritz emphasised that although the Constitution grants the President exclusive authority to appoint the NDPP, such power must still be exercised rationally. \u201cThe President chose a process that involved public scrutiny and testing of candidates\u2019 fitness. That process was applied to six candidates who were deemed unsuitable, but not to the person ultimately appointed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She stressed that her criticism was not a reflection on Mothibi\u2019s competence. \u201cThis is not to detract from or suggest that Advocate Mothibi is not fit to be NDPP. The concern is the integrity of the process,\u201d Fritz added.<\/p>\n

The appointment comes amid heightened scrutiny of South Africa\u2019s criminal justice system, with the Madlanga Commission and an Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee probing allegations of criminal syndicate infiltration aided by political actors.<\/p>\n

Fritz said these challenges make it \u201cespecially important that the person who takes the helm of the NPA does so through a process that allows for integrity and public trust\u201d.<\/p>\n

While the appointment may face criticism, it remains unclear whether it will be legally challenged. Mothibi now steps into one of the country\u2019s most critical legal roles, facing both institutional challenges and questions that may have been avoided through a more transparent appointment process.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Your World Today<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Nicole Fritz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s late-night announcement appointing Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Andy Mothibi as South Africa\u2019s new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has sparked widespread debate and concern, particularly around the integrity of the appointment process. Mothibi, who was neither shortlisted nor interviewed during the recent NDPP selection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103012,"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-103011","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\/2026\/01\/Andy-Mothibi.jpeg?fit=299%2C168&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qNt","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 19:30:23","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\/103011","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=103011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}