Clash: New public prosecutions chief Menzi Simelane disagreed with his predecessor, Vusi Pikoli, who said he alone had the final say over management at the National Prosecuting Authority. Picture: Desiree Swart

When he was director-general of the Department of Justice, Menzi Simelane expressed a very different view of his new role as national director of public prosecutions than his predecessor, Vusi Pikoli.

If Simelane stands by those opinions, a differently structured National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) can be expected to the one under Pikoli. During last year’s inquiry into Pikoli’s fitness to hold office, chaired by former speaker of the National Assembly Frene Ginwala, Simelane described the “difference of opinion” between himself and Pikoli.

While Pikoli’s opinion was that he alone had the final say in the management of the NPA, Simelane said the director-general’s role as accounting officer meant more than being a “bean counter”.

But for Pikoli this affected the independence of his office. The two had clashed on a number of issues, the root of which was a different view of the proper relationship between the post of director-general and that of prosecutions chief.

Both Pikoli and Simelane were directors-general of justice and went on to become prosecutions directors. In each case, Simelane followed Pikoli. Simelane was appointed director-general of justice in 2005.

But in her report, Ginwala came down squarely for Pikoli’s view of the relationship between the two posts.

She had severe words for Simelane, saying he had ignored legal advice which favoured Pikoli’s view and “continued to assert powers he did not have”.

She also accused Simelane of being “reckless” because he drafted the letter from former justice minister Brigitte Mabandla that unconstitutionally instructed Pikoli to stop any plan to arrest former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

After Ginwala’s report, the Public Service Commission (PSC) was asked to investigate her complaints about Simelane. Former president Kgalema Motlanthe said at the time that once the honesty of a director- general had been questioned, it needed to be investigated.

But former justice minister Enver Surty defended Simelane, saying he had found him to be “extremely hard working, very committed and passionate about his work”.

Many saw the lambasting Simelane received as his taking the fall for his political bosses ­ Mabandla and former president Thabo Mbeki .

A justice official told Business Day that, as justice director-general, Simelane had been “very hands-on” and had a tendency to simply take over when he felt people were not getting the job done. This made him unpopular in some quarters, but he had also been responsible for getting the department’s books in order for the first time.

The official said Simelane processed and ensured the passing of a lot of legislation on the judiciary and had been responsible for the automation of the court system.

Before his appointment as justice director-general, Simelane was the first head of the Competition Commission, in 1999.

The PSC’s investigation has not been made public, but it is understood the probe left it to the discretion of the justice minister to take any disciplinary steps he felt appropriate.

President Jacob Zuma said yesterday that Simelane would not face a disciplinary hearing.

With acknowledgements to Franny Rabkin and Business Day.