Get to know the new head of the NPA Advocate Andy Mothibi

The newly appointed National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Andy Mothibi, has held numerous executive positions in both the private and public sector.

On Tuesday evening, the Presidency announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had appointed Mothibi, the current head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), as the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) effective from next month (February).

Ramaphosa took the decision following recommendations made by an advisory panel that interviewed five possible candidates for the position last year.

In its reports, the panel advised Ramaphosa that none of the interviewed candidates was suitable for the role of NDPP.

While question marks remain over whether Mothibi will be the person to turn things around within the NPA, his CV boasts an impressive professional history.

Mothibi, who has served as the head of the SIU for a decade since his May 2016 appointment has held executive roles in both the private and public sector.

In 2013, he was appointed the executive director of Medscheme Holdings, leaving his role as head of operational risk for Standard Bank South Africa.

Prior to that, Mothibi held the post of general manager for group operational risk management at Nedbank.

He also served as head of compliance at South African Airways and formed part of a project that worked on the establishment of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in 1995.

Mothibi began his career in law, having served as a public prosecutor and magistrate in Gauteng, after graduating from the North West University in 1987 with a BProc degree, which was later replaced by an LLB.