President Jacob Zuma stunned opposition parties and legal commentators when he named the Justice Department’s former Director-General Menzi Simelane as National Director of Public Prosecutions.
This means that Mr Simelane will now succeed Adv Vusi Pikoli – the man he helped push out – as the Head of the National Prosecuting Authority.
Opposition parties on Wednesday described the appointment as “shocking” and a “pay-back” for Mr Simelane’s unwavering loyalty to the post-Polokwane ANC leadership.
Though held in high esteem during his tenure as head of the Competition Commission between 1999 and 2004, his reputation took a knock at the justice department where he succeeded Mr Pikoli as DG.
But it was his testimony during the Ginwala Commission of Inquiry into Adv Pikoli’s fitness to head the NPA that dealt Mr Simelane’s career a severe blow last year.
Source: www.businessday.co.za, 20091126
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