The appointment of Advocate Shamila Batohi as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions on Tuesday has been widely welcomed.
President Cyril Ramaphosa selected the Hague-based lawyer from a shortlist of five candidates proposed by a special advisory panel.
What are her credentials?
Throughout her extensive and distinguished career, and in the course of the selection process, she has shown herself to be a fit and proper person.
She started her public service as a junior prosecutor in the Chatsworth magistrates’ court in 1986 and steadily rose through the ranks to become the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu Natal.
She was seconded to the Investigation Task Unit established by President Nelson Mandela in 1995 and later served as the first regional head of the Directorate of Special Operations based in KwaZulu-Natal.
She also led the prosecution of Protea's captain Hansie Cronje at the King Commission into match-fixing in cricket,
For much of the last decade, she has served as a Senior Legal Advisor to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
Advocate Batohi will commence her duties in February 2019 after serving her notice as Senior Legal Advisor at the ICC.
