Overview
- The Nkabinde Panel, chaired by retired Justice Bess Nkabinde, formally declared Advocate Andrew Chauke fit to hold office on Wednesday after months of hearings into his conduct.
- Chauke was placed on precautionary suspension in July 2025 after then-NDPP Shamila Batohi asked the president to probe his fitness to lead the busy South Gauteng prosecuting office.
- The panel found no credible evidence that Chauke took the prosecutorial decisions alleged in the Cato Manor matter and judged his provisional withdrawal of murder-related charges against former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli and referral to an inquest as not irrational.
- Hearings tested relations inside the National Prosecuting Authority with disputes over witnesses and scope that led Batohi to walk out and later withdraw from the inquiry, highlighting deep institutional tensions.
- The presidency and the NPA will now set the administrative steps and timing for Chauke’s formal reinstatement, a move that could affect major prosecutions and prompt further scrutiny of the NPA’s leadership and processes.