The hot seat vacated by Bulelani Ngcuka could hardly have been hotter than on the day his successor, Vusi Pikoli, was named.

With the Scorpions announcing the imminent arrest this week of 40 MPs for alleged involvement in travel fraud, the cabinet on Friday revealed that Pikoli would take over as the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP).

Pikoli, who has been the director-general of justice and constitutional development since late 1999, will have to oversee what could be one of the most contentious and potentially politically damaging prosecutions yet, along with the Schabir Shaik trail in Durban.

Several government spokespeople have denied Pikoli's appointment is part of a larger shake-up of the National Prosecuting Authority and its relocation under the wing of the safety and security department, as was reported this week. Joel Netshitenzhe, the government's chief spokesperson, said "no such decision" to restructure the Scorpions had been taken.

Pikoli had never been one of the favourites for the job, with former Limpopo premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi the original front-runner, and Silas Ramayite, the acting director of public prosecutions, more recently tipped to succeed Ngcuka.

"I'm not sure if 'excited' is the right word; it's not going to be an easy job but somebody has to do it and the president has chosen me," Pikoli said yesterday. He said key challenges included building confidence in the justice system without fear or favour.

"I've got no axe to grind with anybody and will work within the dictates of the job," he said, adding that the law would be applied fairly and equally to all citizens, rich or poor, and to politicians as well. Pikoli said he had heard a week ago that he was being considered for the post and that the call from the president had come as a shock.

Ironically, Pikoli leaves his department shortly after the reinstatement of Mike Tshishonga, a deputy director-general fired by him last year after a spat with Penuell Maduna, the former justice minister, whom Tshishonga is suing for R2 million for calling him a "dunderhead".

Born and bred in Eastern Cape, Pikoli went into exile in 1980 shortly after being expelled from Fort Hare in his final B.Proc year for participating in the boycott of lectures. In 1984 he obtained a BA law degree from the National University of Lesotho and in 1986 he completed an LLB degree, followed by an LLM degree at the University of Zimbabwe in 1988.

In exile he served as chairperson of the ANC Youth League in Lesotho and Zimbabwe and was a member of the ANC's legal department in Zambia. Back in South Africa he worked in private practice until his appointment in 1994 as special adviser to the minister of justice and later as justice deputy director-general: human resources.

Pikoli has been a member of the Magistrates' Commission since 1998, is the deputy chairperson of the Ministerial Review Commission on Defence Intelligence, a member of the Internal Audit Committee and has served as rapporteur in an anti-corruption conference pertaining to the public sector.

The official opposition has welcomed Pikoli's appointment - "most importantly because he is not a high-profile ANC politician".

"While Pikoli's record at the department of justice is patchy, nevertheless he has made laudable attempts to sort out its appalling finances and roll back the endemic corruption that plagued it since 1994," Sheila Camerer, the Democratic Alliance's spokesperson on justice said.

With acknowledgements to Christelle Terreblanche and the Sunday Independent.