Cholota judgment exposes NPA as politicised and morally bankrupt: Thabo Mandila

Key topics:NPA accused of weaponising the law against state witness CholotaJudgment seen as proof of prosecutorial abuse and political interferenceCall for urgent reform as public trust in justice system erodes.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..By Thabo Mandila.The recent judgment in the matter involving Ms. Moroadi Cholota has sent tremors through the legal and political landscape of South Africa—but more significantly, it has delivered a damning revelation about the state of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). For those of us who have watched with growing concern as prosecutorial discretion in South Africa has morphed into a tool of political engineering, this judgement confirms a truth that is as painful as it is undeniable: the NPA is no longer a neutral body serving justice. It is a political party masquerading as a public institution, selectively deploying the law to silence, punish, and discredit perceived foes of the prevailing order.The facts revealed in this case speak volumes. The attempted criminalisation of a young woman who was once a state witness, without following basic protocols of law, decency, or process, is not merely an error—it is a deliberate act of persecution. It reflects an institution willing to trample legal norms, international conventions, and the dignity of human beings to serve political ends.One cannot help but contrast this behaviour with the very systems that South Africa supposedly liberated itself from. Under apartheid, oppression was institutionalised and unapologetic. Under colonialism, domination was racial, economic, and systemic. Today, however, we are witnessing a different kind of tyranny—one cloaked in the garments of democracy, but equally ruthless, if not more so. When a prosecuting authority acts with such impunity, targeting individuals based not on evidence but on political pressure, then we are no longer dealing with justice—we are confronting organised political vengeance.The Cholota judgment exposes the NPA as an institution with absolutely no integrity. It has betrayed the Constitution, abandoned its oath to impartiality, and become a dangerous political player. Justice Raymond Zondo once warned about “state capture” being more than just looting—it’s the capture of institutions to serve the will of the powerful. This is exactly what the NPA now represents.Worse still is the chilling effect this has on South Africa's democracy. When institutions like the NPA become unaccountable and weaponised, it not only threatens individuals like Cholota, but undermines the very idea of a fair and free society. If a witness can be transformed into a suspect overnight—without due process, without communication, and without evidence—then no one is safe. This is not just a legal crisis. It is a national betrayal.We must ask difficult questions: Who benefits when the NPA fails to prosecute real criminals but obsessively pursues certain individuals for political theatre? Whose script are they following? What deals are being made in the shadows, and who are the silent victims of this institutional decay?As South Africans, we cannot afford to stay silent. We owe it to our Constitution, to the victims of apartheid, and to future generations to call this what it is: state-sponsored persecution. If the NPA cannot reform itself, then it must be reformed from the outside. Parliament must act. Civil society must speak. Legal professionals must resist. Because the greatest danger is not merely the corruption of power, but the normalization of injustice dressed up as law.History will judge this era—not only by what was done to Moroadi Cholota and others, but by who had the courage to speak out while the institutions of justice were turned into weapons of political survival.

Cholota judgment exposes NPA as politicised and morally bankrupt: Thabo Mandila

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