Despite being replaced as prosecutor in two high-profile cases amid a judicial finding of unethical conduct, advocate Nceba Ntelwa has resurfaced at the centre of another major case — this time as part of a specialised task team handling matters flowing from the Madlanga commission.
Ntelwa, previously removed from the Pastor Timothy Omotoso human trafficking trial and then replaced in the multimillion-rand University of Fort Hare corruption case, is now prosecuting suspended Ekurhuleni deputy metro police chief Julius Mkhwanazi and city manager Kagiso Lerutla.
His re-emergence comes while an internal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigation into his conduct in the Omotoso matter remains unresolved.
NPA national spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed Ntelwa was part of the task team dealing with matters stemming from the Madlanga commission, which included the Ekurhuleni case.
Mkhwanazi and Lerutla stand accused in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on several charges, including fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice.
Their arrests stem from ongoing investigations and incriminating testimony at the Madlanga commission.
They face charges of fraud, corruption and defeating the ends of justice following allegations that Lerutla dodged a 2019 speeding case by sending a stand-in to court.
According to police, Lerutla — who had been released on R1,000 bail — allegedly enlisted Mkhwanazi’s help when his court date clashed with a job interview.
An impersonator was then allegedly recruited, given Lerutla’s ID, and appeared in court posing as him.
The impersonator, who cannot be named for his safety, was found guilty on Lerutla’s behalf and sentenced to community service for speeding.
It is alleged Lerutla paid the man and Mkhwanazi R200,000 each for their efforts.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said earlier this week that Lerutla was given a court date, but it fell on the same day he was scheduled to be interviewed for the position of chief financial officer at the Ekurhuleni municipality.
Mathe said Lerutla allegedly approached Mkhwanazi for help.
“They [allegedly] colluded and found an impersonator to go to court instead,” Mathe said.
Appearing in court on Thursday for their formal bail applications, the men denied the charges.
Kganyago dismissed concerns that Ntelwa’s presence could prejudice the prosecution, stressing that he had not been found guilty of wrongdoing and that internal processes were still under way.
“An internal investigation is still ongoing,” Kganyago said.
Asked why a prosecutor from the Eastern Cape was appointed to the Ekurhuleni matter, Kganyago responded: “Ntelwa is part of the task team dealing with matters from the Madlanga commission and this matter is handled by the task team.”
The unit was created by national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
However, Ntelwa’s past has been marked by a scathing judicial criticism.
In April 2025, Omotoso and his co-accused were acquitted of rape and human trafficking in a judgment by judge Irma Schoeman that sharply rebuked the NPA’s handling of the case.
She ultimately found that the state had failed to properly cross-examine the accused.
Another issue raised at some point in the protracted trial was a WhatsApp group which included the complainants.
This was found to have existed throughout the trial but Ntelwa said it was created for logistical purposes.
Schoeman found that the WhatsApp group was “undesirable” but the fact that a WhatsApp group had been formed was not in itself so manifestly unfair that it would render the trial unfair.
Ntelwa was replaced as prosecutor after the first witness testified, and then placed on record again after May 2020.
In December 2021, he was officially removed from the case when Schoeman found that he had committed a number of irregularities.
Prior to that, state advocate Ismat Cerfontein also withdrew from the matter.
Cerfontein had been appointed to assist Ntelwa after the trial was ordered to start afresh due to the initial judge’s recusal.
Before she withdrew, Cerfontein had sent an email to Ntelwa and two seniors, highlighting her concerns.
Cerfontein wrote that, in her view, the indictment needed to be altered as it was not the same as the oral evidence being presented.
Ntelwa allegedly proposed that certain witnesses be persuaded to stick to their police statements.
He also said a charge of sexual assault contained in the indictment should not be changed to one of rape as was testified by a witness during her oral evidence, because it would negatively affect the case and cause delays.
Schoeman told Ntelwa it was unthinkable that a senior prosecutor could be so remiss in his duties.
She was commenting on the fact that Ntelwa, a senior prosecutor with 14 years’ experience at the time, had stated under oath that he did not realise that digital penetration of the genitalia constituted rape.
Her judgment ultimately acquitting Omotoso and his co-accused read: “Unfortunately there have been problems in this matter, some of which can be classified as unethical conduct or incompetence of the prosecution, even from before the trial commenced.
“Cerfontein, one of the initial prosecutors in the case, consulted with some of the witnesses.
“She established that the witnesses’ police statements differed from their versions during consultation or from the indictment.”
Schoeman said Cerfontein had advised Ntelwa of this.
“Instead of obtaining the correct version by way of written affidavits, Ntelwa wrote in an email that the witnesses should be persuaded to stick to their version as set out in their police statements to prevent a possible postponement.”
Despite this “unethical suggestion”, the second indictment was drawn up incorporating some of the amendments in accordance with the witnesses’ statements to Cerfontein, Schoeman found.
“Further consultations with the other witnesses by Cerfontein were cancelled without her being given reasons for such cancellation.
“A probable inference is that Ntelwa did not want other witnesses to deviate from their police statements that could be exposed during consultation.
“Cerfontein had, as an ethical prosecutor should, disclosed to [Omotoso lawyer Peter] Daubermann that the witness had made a contradictory statement to her.
“When I pertinently asked Ntelwa whether he knew [the witness] had made a contradictory statement, he denied it.
“The emails between the prosecutors were then disclosed to the defence.
“However, there were large portions redacted.
“When the unredacted emails were disclosed, it referred to further discrepancies between the statements of further witnesses and the consultations with Cerfontein.
“The fact that there were redactions is indicative of the attitude.”
Justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi at the time also expressed concern regarding the manner in which the Omotoso case was handled.
In the Fort Hare corruption matter involving a string of accused, the state ultimately abandoned a racketeering charge after a more than six-month delay in securing the necessary certificate.
Ntelwa had assured the court the certificate was forthcoming.
However, he was eventually replaced.
The state, under new leadership, dropped the racketeering count and split the remaining charges among other prosecutors.
In September 2024, Ntelwa told the magistrate’s court in Dikeni that he had applied for a racketeering certificate to the national director of public prosecutions.
A racketeering certificate must be obtained in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
But when the accused appeared again in March 2025, he said the certificate was not yet ready.
He was adamant the certificate would be ready at the next court appearance.
But when the matter resumed in April 2025, Ntelwa was no longer acting for the state and had been replaced by advocate Luthando Makoyi.
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