Simon Nare
The Nkabinde Inquiry has dismissed former National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi’s bid to consult her lawyers while under oath, saying she failed to show that refusing the request would undermine her procedural fairness rights.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, chairperson and retired Constitutional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde said Batohi had not “proffered specific facts suggestive of her rights to procedural fairness being compromised” and that no constitutional imperative justified allowing her to obtain legal advice while her testimony remained incomplete.
Batohi walked out of the inquiry in December 2025 while still under cross-examination by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, who acts for suspended South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions Andrew Chauke.
The panel is probing Chauke’s fitness to hold office.
“In my view, even though the Panel could exercise its discretion in pursuit to accommodate the Applicant’s request, she has not proffered specific facts suggestive of
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