Former Investigating Directorate (ID) head Hermione Cronje during her National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) interview on 11 December 2025. Picture: GCIS Former Investigating Directorate (ID) head Hermione Cronje on Thursday revealed that she had long aspired to lead the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). But she described severe internal dysfunction at the institution — problems that she says ultimately pushed her out of the NPA twice.
Cronje appeared as the fifth candidate on day two of the interview process in Pretoria to select a successor for current NDPP Shamila Batohi, who will retire in January 2026. She officially left the ID — now known as the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), a permanent NPA unit — in March 2022. Her initial appointment took place in May 2019, but she resigned in December 2021.
Cronje’s history with the NPA goes back decades, with her working under former NDPP Bulelani Ngcuka, helping establish the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), and eventually serving as the AFU’s Western Cape head. During her interview, Cronje recalled being involved in the NPA’s creation in 1998 after Ngcuka recruited her while they were both working in Parliament. “What it gave me was an incredible vantage point,” she said. “I enjoyed very much working with Bulelani, but I also thought if I am going to national director one day, I’m going to have to get some legal experience.”
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