Changing NPA heads won’t fix South Africa’s justice system: Batohi

Head of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shamila Batohi says the calls for her sacking do little to address the challenges facing the state institution.

With just eight months remaining in her term and calls for her head mounting, Batohi says a lack of institutional independence and deep-rooted systemic challenges continue to hinder the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s ability to perform effectively.

The NPA has come under fire, recently, for bungling several high-profile cases, most notably the Omotoso sex trafficking case and the extradition of Ace Magashule’s former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota.

Batohi says the Omotoso judgment has been the hardest for her.

“That was a case that was devastating for me, personally as the head of NPA. For the victims to come forward and testify in those circumstances, against a very powerful person is one of the most difficult things to do and my heart went out to those victims when that judgment was rendered.”

Batohi has also conceded that the Omotoso ruling has hugely dented the country’s fight against Gender- Based Violence (GBV).

The NPA head has refused to characterise the recent handling of high-profile cases as failures, instead describing them as shortcomings.

“When one wants to judge the NPA and whether it is failing or succeeding, then you have to look at the NPA in the context of the system that it is working within and in the context of various internal and external challenges, then make an honest assessment,” she says.

Batohi, who joined the NPA after serving at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, says her top priority during her tenure has been to rebuild what she describes as a captured institution.

She says among the many challenges facing the NPA, the most critical is the lack of financial and operational independence, which currently falls under the Department of Justice.

“You have the head of a constitutional entity that actually doesn’t have full control over the entity itself. That is an untenable situation.”

Responding to calls for her resignation, Batohi said that if she truly believed the NPA was not performing under her leadership, she would have no hesitation in stepping down.

She says the calls by some political parties and civil organisations are based on a handful of court cases that she is confident she can account for.

“It is very easy to blame one person when we have a crime crisis in this country. There’s been global surveys that show that the biggest challenge in South Africa is crime. Shamila Batohi can step down tomorrow, but if we don’t interrogate what are the actual challenges that make it so difficult for a national director to do his or her work, and deal with those challenges in a very decisive and effective way, changing a national director is not going to make any difference.”

The DA plans to introduce the Private Members Bill in Parliament in efforts to “rescue South Africa’s broken National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and restore justice for victims of corruption”.

A move that’s been welcomed by some young South Africans who spoke to YNews on the efforts.

✅ The DA is pushing for the Private Members Bill in Parliament for the establishment of an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission. The NPA has failed to act on the State Capture Cases, so we are taking action.

Watch the briefing LIVE: https://t.co/mbAwRJxY3g#DApresser pic.twitter.com/7QQL8Kahvh

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) June 6, 2025