Simelane is currently facing an application to have him removed from the roll of legal practitioners.
Former National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Menzi Simelane has rejected claims that he was ever deemed unfit to occupy the role he is vying for again.
Simelane appeared on Thursday as the final candidate interviewed on day two of the shortlisting process to find a successor for outgoing NDPP Shamila Batohi, who will step down in January 2026.
The interviews took place at the Auditor-General’s offices in Pretoria.
Simelane was removed as NDPP after the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) invalidated his appointment in October 2012.
He had been appointed in December 2009 by then-president Jacob Zuma.
Freedom Under Law (FUL) has since formally objected to his current nomination, while the Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA) lodged a court bid to have him struck from the roll of legal practitioners.
Former NDPP Menzi Simelane in the hot seat
During the interview, Simelane detailed his career history, including his tenure as director-general of the Department of Justice from 2005 to 2009.
He indicated that he was involved in the processes that led to the establishment of the ConCourt.
“Transformation of the legal professions – we did a lot of that. For my sins, I pushed a lot of things I think are following me to this day,” Simelane remarked.
He said one of those controversial efforts was his attempt to abolish traditional bar structures, arguing that the country did not need “these ritualistic, traditional things” common in court settings.
His push for change, Simelane admitted, was not met well.
“So I lost that debate; I accepted it, and that’s how we moved.”
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Simelane said one of the biggest obstacles in the transformation of the justice system was dealing with judges, describing the legal profession as “extremely conservative”.
“There was a general view at the time that the Constitutional Court judges were political judges because of who they were, irrespective of their stature,” he said.
According to Simelane, another major issue was the appointment of judges, as many black practitioners and judges believed their white colleagues were resistant to transformation.
He emphasised that as director-general, he oversaw the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) administratively — excluding decisions about prosecutions.
Watch the NDPP interviews below:
Simelane further claimed that he had no role in the now-disbanded Scorpions, which operated independently under its own legislation.
He later described his leadership style as one rooted in collective participation.
“It is the only style of management I know. It has always been group-thoughts.”
He clarified that he manages processes rather than people.
JSA application
Simelane was also questioned about the JSA’s application filed with the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg seeking to have him removed from the roll of advocates.
The application relies in part on the Ginwala inquiry, held in 2007 to assess former NDPP Vusi Pikoli’s fitness for office.
In her report, inquiry chairperson Frene Ginwala wrote that Simelane’s allegations against Pikoli were dishonest.
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He was later found guilty of professional misconduct in 2017 after a disciplinary hearing.
On Thursday, Simelane insisted the Ginwala report made only “comments”, not formal findings, and that he was, therefore, unable to challenge it in court.
He said the ConCourt erred in treating those comments as findings.
“Comments about me are made in the executive summary; they are not findings.”
‘That’s factual’
Simelane also rejected claims that the ConCourt had declared him not a “fit and proper person” to serve as NDPP.
He pointed to paragraph 91 of the judgment, which states: “It is unnecessary for this court to determine whether Mr Simelane is in fact a fit and proper person to be appointed as the national director or whether the president had an ulterior purpose in making the appointment.”
He urged the panel to take note of this.
“The Constitutional Court judgment does not say Simelane is not fit and proper because that’s factual,” Simelane said on Thursday.
He suggested that the JSA’s application was strategically timed because he had been mentioned in a WhatsApp group as a potential NDPP candidate.
“It dawned on me that it appears to be a pre-emptive move on the part of somebody in anticipation of something.”
He questioned why the JSA, after deciding in October 2023 to pursue the matter, “only come back now”.
He added that the matter remains sub judice.
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