THE GATHERING 2026: ‘No one is immune’ — NPA head vows criminal justice reset after Madlanga revelations

As the Madlanga Commission continues to hear allegations of rot in the criminal justice system, NPA boss Andy Mothibi says it is resetting Idac, going after officials implicated in wrongdoing and continuing the hunt for the controversial Gupta brothers.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is resetting its top anti-corruption unit following the explosive allegations made at the Madlanga Commission, while also promising to pursue officials implicated in wrongdoing and continuing the hunt for Gupta-linked assets.

Speaking at Daily Maverick’s flagship event, The Gathering, in Cape Town on Friday, 11 September, NPA head Advocate Andy Mothibi said the organisation was putting “tangible objective measures” in place to restore integrity, strengthen the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) and ensure that no official was protected if evidence pointed to wrongdoing.

“We took over at a time where really the criminal justice system itself was being detected,” Mothibi said.

Mothibi, who took over as NPA head in February 2026, said the organisation was executing a reset project at Idac, which has come under intense scrutiny following evidence heard by the commission and the resignation of its former head, Advocate Andrea Johnson.

Following her resignation, several officials implicated in wrongdoing had been suspended, Mothibi said. He said that as part of the reset, an acting head of Idac, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, had been appointed, describing him as “a very credible man” whom he had previously worked with at the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Mothibi recalled that Vanara had previously refused a bribe , saying this was the kind of integrity the NPA needed as it rebuilt the unit.

Mothibi said the NPA was reviewing how Idac had operated, including allegations that management oversight had failed and standard operating procedures had not been followed.