Pushback against NPA restructuring kicks off

Two top NPA officials and a magistrate are taking President Cyril Ramaphosa to court for reversing their appointments to leadership positions that occurred during the Jacob Zuma presidency, says a Business Day report, noting the legal challenges are the first significant pushback against the major restructuring of the NPA by Ramaphosa. Raymond Mathenjwa and additional magistrate for the Tsakane court, Ron Mncwabe, both advocates, have filed applications in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) aimed at compelling Ramaphosa to reverse his decision to revoke their 1 February 2018 appointments as Directors of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape respectively. Advocate Torrie Pretorius, the former acting head of the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit, which controversially pursued short-lived fraud charges against then Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, has also confirmed he will challenge the revocation of his appointment as Special Director of the unit. Zuma signed presidential minutes authorising these appointments, which he stated were made in consultation with then National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams and Justice & Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha, just two weeks before he stepped down from office. Ramaphosa revoked them, also through presidential minutes, on 11 March 2019.