Newly appointed national director of public prosecutions advocate Andy Mothibi has been the head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) since 2016. He joined the corruption-busting unit following years of work in the private sector, including at banks and in the health-care field. Mothibi also worked as a prosecutor, a magistrate, at the SA Revenue Service and SAA.
In an interview with the Sowetan in 2022, Mothibi, a man who comes across as humble and reserved but passionate about his work, is described by one admiring colleague as a “hardworking technocrat”. The Presidency announced on Tuesday night that Mothibi’s tenure at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) would begin in February. An advisory panel chaired by justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi shortlisted and interviewed candidates — advocates Nicolette Bell, Hermione Cronje, Andrea Johnson, Xolisile Khanyile, Adrian Mopp and Menzi Simelane — in December, but none were found to be suitable to become the prosecutions boss, said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
At the SIU, Mothibi leads a team of meticulous investigators who quietly and painstakingly troll through a trove of state documents to unravel graft through forensic work. But the successes of his team in the fight against corruption in recent years have plucked him out of the shadows into the hearts of many South Africans as a hero of some sort. And the impact of his team’s work has been felt at the seat of power in the Union Buildings.
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The SIU’s case roll includes stepping on the big toes of powerful politicians such as former minister of health Zweli Mkhize, who resigned in disgrace after the unit’s probe into the Digital Vibes contract scandal. In a country where governance and public trust were eroded during the period of state capture, Mothibi and the SIU’s efforts to go after looters have served to restore faith in some state institutions. There has been a growing list of high-profile individuals and companies whose assets have either been frozen or forfeited to the state as a result of the SIU’s findings on irregular state contracts.
In the last financial year, the SIU enrolled matters for civil litigation totalling R64.8bn — the biggest of which is the investigation into Transnet’s locomotives arising out of an unlawful contract. Of the total value of cases enrolled with the Special Tribunal — a key weapon in the fight against the looting of state funds — cases worth R2.2bn were related to the acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mothibi describes the establishment of the Special Tribunal to deal with civil litigation by the SIU as a game changer in how the graft buster conducted its work effectively. “The increase in the number of proclamations by 122% since 2016 tells us that the confidence of the public is such that reporting allegations to the SIU has grown and you can only do that when you do investigations effectively, show the results and show there is consequence management,” Mothibi says.
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