[1]       This is an appeal against the judgment and order of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria (the high court), in which it dismissed the damages claim of Mr Malala Geophrey Ledwaba (the appellant). The appellant’s claim arose from an alleged malicious prosecution by employees of the second respondent, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (the NDPP). In terms of s 179(1) of the Constitution,[1] the NDPP is the head of prosecuting authority in South Africa, under which all Directors of Public Prosecutions and prosecutors fall. The National Prosecuting Act 32 of 1998 is the national legislation envisaged in s 179(4) of the Constitution to ‘ensure that the National Prosecuting Authority (the NPA) exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice.’ Section 32(1)(a) of the NPA gives expression to that objective.

[2]       The first respondent is the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development (the Minister),[2] who exercises final responsibility over the NPA in terms of s 33(1) of the Constitution. The third respondent is the head of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, Pretoria (head of the SCCU). Its mandate is to effectively investigate and prosecute complex commercial crimes emanating from the South African Police Service (SAPS) Commercial Crime Branch. The appeal is with the leave of the high court. The appeal is opposed by only the NDPP.