Advocate Shamila Batohi’s Response to Hangwani Maumela Question Frustrates EFF Leader Julius Malema
- Advocate Shamila Batohi was asked a question about why Hangwani Morgan Maumela hasn't been arrested
- Maumela is a central figure in the widespread ooting scandal at the Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng
- Julius Malema was not happy with Advocate Batohi's response to the requestion about the businessman
Source: UGC
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – Why hasn’t Hangwani Morgan Maumela been arrested as yet? That’s what the uMKhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s Crossby Vusi Shongwe wanted to know from Advocate Shamila Batohi, but her answer to the question frustrated Julius Malema.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head was appearing before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on 11 November 2025, when she was questioned about the businessman who was identified as a central figure in the looting scandal at the Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng.
Maumela is accused of using a syndicate of shell companies to loot approximately R820 million from Tembisa Hospital through dubious and fraudulent contracts. The widespread looting even shocked Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi.
Despite the Asset Forfeiture Unit seizing Maumela’s vehicles and property in relation to the allegations, he has not been charged for anything, something Shongwe questioned.
Source: Twitter
Batohi responds to a question about Maumela
In response to Shongwe’s question, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) said she had no information about how far along investigations were, but she was confident that prosecutors and police were working hard to gather the required evidence.
“When the evidence meets the standard, I am sure they will do what is required of them,” she said.
The answer angered the Economic Freedom Fighters’ Malema, who noted that he was disappointed with it.
The Red Berets Commander-in-Chief said it was embarrassing that cars and houses were taken, but there was no criminal case. He then took issue with her response, saying that it was a pure corruption case, but Advocate Batohi’s answer was that action would be taken when police were ready.
He asked why Parliament was told about the police when the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) deals with those matters.
“It was IDAC that should have actually developed an interest in its own; this is too huge to be left. As the head of the NPA that IDAC falls under, surely you should have developed an interest,” he said.
He added that as a corruption buster, the NDPP should have called IDAC and asked it to probe the widespread looting at the hospital.
He vented that IDAC was investigating a human resources case (Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo’s matter), but not dealing with an actual corruption case where an individual was accused of looting almost close to a billion rand.
“Then the head of the NPA says, ‘Well, we don’t know. We will wait for the police.’ That is so disappointing, to tell the truth,” Malema stated.
Advocate Batohi defends IDAC’s failure to act
In response to Malema’s comment, Advocate Batohi said she agreed with Malema that these were the cases IDAC should be doing, but added that it had limited resources at the moment and was barely able to deal with the cases they wanted. She then said she believed this was the role of this committee: to strengthen IDAC and give it the resources it needed.
Batohi says NPA takes responsibility for Timothy Omotoso blunder
Briefly News reported that Batohi testified about the Timothy Omotoso case before the Ad Hoc Committee.
Batohi spoke about the NPA case, which resulted in Omotoso being acquitted of all the rape and sexual assault charges.
She asked that Parliamentarians not judge the NPA's ability to prosecute gender-based violence cases based on the one case.
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Source: Briefly News
