Six candidates will be interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday to succeed NPA boss Shamila Batohi. The advisory panel will submit its recommendations to President Cyril Ramaphosa after the interviews. Meet the panellists.

The seven-person advisory panel on appointing a new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) begins two days of public interviews on Wednesday, 10 December, to fill the top post at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The position at the helm of the NPA has been a poisoned chalice - not a single NPA boss in democratic South Africa has served a full 10-year term.

NDPP Shamila Batohi will retire in January 2026, after seven years in the role.

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The panel, comprising leaders of the legal fraternity and Chapter Nine institutions, will interview six of an initial 32 candidates at the Pretoria offices of the Auditor-General of South Africa. Daily Maverick's Ferial Haffajee breaks down who the six hopefuls (four women and two men) are.

Advocate Menzi Simelane, as Haffajee points out, is ostensibly the most controversial candidate vying for the job. Simelane served as NDPP under former president Jacob Zuma and is widely regarded as ill-fitted for the role.

Legal watchdog Freedom Under Law (FUL) and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) have both made submissions objecting to his nomination as NDPP. FUL argued that Simelane is "not a fit and proper...