The Pretoria High Court has dismissed an urgent application by the MK Party seeking to halt pension payments to former National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Shamila Batohi.
The party had approached the court in a bid to suspend Batohi’s pension pending the outcome of an inquiry into her fitness to hold office. The application stemmed from concerns over her conduct during proceedings at the Nkabinde Inquiry, where allegations of misconduct, dereliction of duty, and non-cooperation were raised.
The court’s ruling means Batohi will continue to receive her pension for now.
Scrutiny intensified after Batohi walked out of the inquiry while under oath during cross-examination. She later told the commission she could not proceed with her testimony without legal representation, after her request for independent counsel was denied.
Advocate Themba Skosana, one of the inquiry’s evidence leaders, said proceedings could not continue without clarity on Batohi’s legal standing.
“As evidence leaders, we are not yet at the point where we are dealing with the leading of further evidence, but we are dealing with the position that this inquiry finds itself in so far as Advocate Batohi is concerned,” Skosana said.
Commission chair Bess Nkabinde expressed frustration at the delays, noting the absence of a formal application to guide the commission’s next steps.
“If we are asked to make a decision, it must be on an application. It is then that we have all the facts by all the parties, we have legal arguments by all the parties, and then we can form a view and make a ruling,” she said.
In earlier testimony in December, Batohi rejected allegations that she misled the inquiry regarding the role of her adviser, David Broughton, in the Cato Manor racketeering case and matters involving former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli.
Facing cross-examination by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Batohi denied misrepresenting Broughton’s input, maintaining that her understanding was that no recommendation had been made.
The Nkabinde Inquiry is examining the fitness to hold office of Gauteng NPA head Andrew Chauke.