Gauteng High Court Dismisses Legal Challenge to NDPP Mothibi's Appointment, Rules Applicant Lacked Standing

Gauteng High Court Dismisses Legal Challenge to NDPP Mothibi's Appointment, Rules Applicant Lacked Standing

JOHANNESBURG, 31 March 2026. The Gauteng High Court dismissed a legal challenge to the appointment of Advocate Andy Mothibi as National Director of Public Prosecutions on Tuesday, ruling that the applicant law firm lacked the legal standing required to bring the application and confirming that President Cyril Ramaphosa had acted within his constitutional authority when he appointed Mothibi without subjecting him to the public screening process applied to other candidates.

The challenge had been brought by B Xulu and Partners Incorporated, whose founding attorney Barnabas Xulu had served Mothibi with court papers on his first day in office at the beginning of February. The firm argued that Mothibi's appointment was procedurally unfair because he had not been among the six candidates formally interviewed by the independent advisory panel, which had ultimately recommended that none of those candidates was suitable for the role. Xulu contended that Ramaphosa should have waited for the courts to validate the panel's process before making the appointment.

The court rejected the application on locus standi grounds, a finding that the applicant had no direct legal interest sufficient to entitle it to challenge the appointment. The ruling also affirmed, on the merits, that the President was entitled to appoint Mothibi without a further public screening process, in light of the panel's conclusion that no suitable candidate had emerged from the formal interviews.

Mothibi welcomed the ruling, as did the National Prosecuting Authority, which described it as a "legal victory" that would allow the institution to focus on its prosecutorial mandate without the distraction of ongoing appointment litigation. Mothibi had proceeded with his duties throughout the legal process, including overseeing the NPA's programme of high-priority state-capture prosecutions and attending to cases referred from the Zondo Commission.

The ruling cleared the most immediate procedural obstacle to Mothibi's tenure, though analysts noted that his approximately 30-month term before reaching the mandatory retirement age limited the window in which he would be able to drive long-term institutional reform at the NPA.

The NDPP is appointed by the President under Section 179 of the Constitution, which establishes the National Prosecuting Authority as an independent institution accountable to the National Assembly.