Advocate Marumo Moerane, who grilled former transport minister Mac Maharaj and former intelligence officer Mo Shaik at the Hefer commission of inquiry on behalf of the National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, has reinvented himself in the public eye as a man of force.

Moerane's last high-profile appearance was on behalf of government at the Constitutional Court in 2002 where he argued that the 77% of babies born in public hospitals to HIV-positive mothers did not need the antiretroviral drug nevirapine.

The seasoned advocate's fierce but soft-spoken cross-examination at the Hefer commission has elevated his status in the legal profession.

Pressure mounted on Shaik this week to prove claims that Ngcuka was an apartheid spy. After cross-examination by Moerane, Shaik said in a tearful closing statement that he had "gone public" with claims that Ngcuka was investigated as a spy with the best possible motives.

Moerane's questioning led Shaik to concede that he might be wrong about Ngcuka.

Last week, he extracted a similar concession from Maharaj, who was forced to admit that he did not know whether Ngcuka was an apartheid spy or not.

Moerane's professionalism may stem from the fact that he is a member of one of SA's most prominent political families he is a second cousin of President Thabo Mbeki.

His personal background remains a mystery to many of his colleagues, despite the fact that he serves in a public capacity as deputy chairman of the Competition Tribunal.

Attempts to unearth any personal information from the tribunal failed it would not even hand over a copy of Moerane's curriculum vitae.

A colleague at the tribunal spoke fondly about Moerane's "zest for life", though. Members of the tribunal went to Paris earlier this year where they were subjected to a peer review by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

"While all the others retired early for the evening, Marumo and I went out searching for musical entertainment it was with this older person in a jazz club in Paris that I sought a much younger approach to life," says the colleague, who asked not to be named.

The colleague is also impressed by his intellectual skills.

"He thinks before giving an answer; he considers it carefully."

Moerane's legal career should be on an all-time high by the time the Hefer commission ends, and perhaps some of his colleagues will forgive him for taking on the controversial nevirapine case and losing it so badly.

Moerane had argued government's appeal against a Pretoria High Court judgment ordering the health department to make the drug available to all HIV-positive pregnant women at state hospitals .

As deputy chairman of the Competition Tribunal, Moerane has played an important role in a number of high-profile cases.

He played an active role in the approval of the merger between Anglo American Holdings and Kumba Resources.

The Industrial Development Corporation opposed the merger, saying it should be prohibited on both competition and public interest grounds.

The corporation attacked Anglo's empowerment credentials, saying that it would not act in the best interests of historically disadvantaged South Africans.

The final leg of the approval process was abnormally long.

Webber Wentzel Bowens competition lawyer Anthony Norton says Moerane took an evenhanded approach in the Anglo American matter.

"It was well-balanced," Norton says. Moerane has an engaging personality, he says.

Derek Lotter, a competition lawyer at law firm Bowman Gilfillan, says Moerane is often engaged in complex and highprofile matters.

"He has a good reputation in competition circles."

Moerane has also played a role in professional matters.

He is a member of the Judicial Services Commission, which the president consults when approaching judges.

It is a role where highly sensitive considerations need to be taken into account such as the race, gender and the individual profile of candidate judges.

Moerane is an active and committed member of the commission. "It is a highly influential position to hold," says a colleague.

Ngcuka's advocate is also the chair man of the Health Professions Council, which sets standards for registered professions in SA.

With acknowledgements to Sanchia Temkin and the Business Day.