Glynnis Breytenbach withdraws bid to be new prosecutions boss

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach has withdrawn her candidacy for the position of National Director of Public Prosecutions.

“I’m of the frank opinion that Breytenbach would have made an incredible NDPP,” said DA leader Mmusi Maimane on Wednesday morning.

Maimane said Breytenbach had decided to withdraw after consulting with colleagues in the DA and the party’s leadership.

Maimane said the NDPP needed to be apolitical. “It is important to uphold the strict standards of integrity ... the NDPP must be able to prosecute without fear or prejudice,” he said.

“The president has to appoint someone who is above politics, a candidate who is fiercely independent and upholds the rule of law.”

Breytenbach left the NPA as a top prosecutor in 2014 to join the DA for a career as a politician.