By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the release to the public of the report of the Nkabinde Panel of Enquiry that probed the fitness to hold office of Gauteng South Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Andrew Chauke.
The inquiry, chaired by retired Constitutional Court justice Baaitse Elizabeth Nkabinde, found there was “no credible evidence” that Chauke had improperly taken prosecutorial decisions in relation to the Cato Manor matter or acted unlawfully in carrying out his coordination functions.
The panel further found that Chauke’s decision to provisionally withdraw the murder and related charges against former crime intelligence head Richard Mdluli and instead refer the matter to an inquest “was not irrational”.
Chauke has been on suspension since 20 July 2025, when Ramaphosa suspended him pending the outcome of the inquiry. The president formally established the inquiry in September 2025 under section 12(6)(a) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act.
Throughout the inquiry, Chauke maintained that he had acted lawfully, that many of the decisions under scrutiny were taken collectively or under the authority of successive national directors of public prosecutions and that he had not exceeded his powers.
The inquiry faced a series of challenges, including former NDPP boss Shamila Batohi’s unexpected walk-out in December 2025 after just over a week of testimony; witness delays and a tight timeframe. In April, Batohi formally withdrew from the inquiry altogether, referring to the proceedings as “hostile, accusatory, and discouraging”.
The inquiry was due to wrap up in January 2026, but earlier this year Ramaphosa extended its deadline to 30 June.
In a statement, presidency said, “Based on the Panel’s conclusions, President Ramaphosa indicated to Adv Chauke that the President was satisfied that there was no basis upon which to conclude that he was unfit to hold office as Director of Public Prosecutions.”
The inquiry recommended that the NPA should “discharge its constitutional mandate expeditiously” and charge General Johan Booysen and his Cator Manor police squad with racketeering “to ensure that justice is not only done but is seen to be done for the victims and/or their families.”
The inquiry report states that “there was evidence supporting the institution of racketeering charges in terms of section 2(4) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (POCA), against Booysen and members of the Cato Manor unit.
Batohi then decided to drop the racketeering charges against Booysen and his colleagues in the now-disbanded Cato Manor serious and violent crimes unit, accused of various crimes linked to bribery and extrajudicial killings.
Booysen had maintained that the charges were politically motivated and a panel of prosecutors appointed by Batohi found there was no merit in the case.
Charges were first instituted by former deputy national director of public prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba in 2012 and again by former NDPP Shaun Abrahams in 2016.
He told the State Capture Commission of Inquiry in April 2019 how he was targeted because he refused to scrap investigations into politically-connected characters. He successfully challenged multiple proceedings related to his arrest but was effectively sidelined until he took early retirement in 2017.
The Report can be assessed here: https://tinyurl.com/4aak7y6v.