The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has launched a blistering attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Adv. Andy Mothibi as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), conspiratorially alleging political orchestration and calling for the immediate arrest of businessman Hangwani Maumela.
In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela described Mothibi’s appointment, announced by the Presidency on Tuesday and effective from February 1, as politically calculated.
“This appointment appears to be pre-orchestrated, politically deliberate, and part of a systematic process aimed at placing Adv. Mothibi in a constitutionally critical position,” Ndhlela said.
Timing of the appointment scrutinised
The party said its concern was heightened by the timing of the appointment, pointing to findings against Maumela, made by Mothibi himself, during his tenure as head of the Special Investigating Unit.
“Of grave concern is the timing of this appointment, which coincides with Adv. Mothibi’s own findings … that there was prima facie evidence implicating Mr Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew, Mr Hangwani Maumela, in the Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal,” Ndhlela said.
That scandal has followed Ramaphosa like a slow-burning fuse, marked by denials, clarifications, and carefully calibrated admissions under mounting political scrutiny.
When Maumela’s name first surfaced in connection with alleged corruption at Tembisa Hospital in 2025, opposition parties pressed Ramaphosa in parliament, claiming Maumela was his nephew.
Ramaphosa flatly rejected the assertion, saying he did not know Maumela and dismissing any suggestion of a personal relationship.
Months later, the issue resurfaced when Ramaphosa was linked to the same affluent Sandton neighbourhood associated with Maumela.
MKP wants Maumela arrested immediately
The Presidency again stressed distance, denying any visit or relationship and framing the claims as politically motivated.
As pressure intensified, Ramaphosa offered a fuller explanation, acknowledging that Maumela is a nephew by marriage, through a marriage to Maumela’s aunt that ended decades ago.
He conceded to a brief chance encounter during a walk but insisted he had no personal relationship, communication, or involvement in Maumela’s affairs.
Since then, the debate has centred less on bloodlines and more on perception, with Ramaphosa insisting investigations must proceed independently, untouched by family labels.
The MKP, however, remains unconvinced.
“The MK Party firmly believes that Mr Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Adv. Mothibi as NDPP is intended to shield his nephew from imminent arrest and prosecution,” Ndhlela said.
Turning the spotlight onto the incoming NDPP, the party issued a direct challenge.
“The MK Party calls on Adv. Mothibi, upon assuming office at the beginning of February, to act decisively and without delay by ensuring the immediate arrest and prosecution of Mr Hangwani Maumela.”
None of shortlisted candidates suitable
The party also renewed its criticism of the advisory panel used in the selection process.
The panel, chaired by Mmamoloko Kubayi, the Minister of Justice, and comprising heads of key constitutional and oversight bodies, was appointed to guide the NDPP selection process.
It interviewed six shortlisted candidates out of 32 applicants and ultimately advised Ramaphosa that none were suitable.
“The appointment of an interview panel chaired by the minister of justice and constitutional development was nothing more than a smoke screen,” Ndhlela said, describing it as “fruitless and wasteful expenditure” designed to mask a predetermined outcome.
Mothibi’s appointment follows the expiry of Adv. Shamila Batohi’s seven-year term and comes as the National Prosecuting Authority enters a sensitive transition.
For the MKP, however, the issue is already framed not as renewal, but as a test of independence, intent and whether South Africa’s prosecutorial spine will bend or stand firm when proximity to power is alleged.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has yet to respond to media questions on the MKP conspiracy theory.
