ASANDA NINI: In January you exited government employ after a 17-year stint. How has the journey been?
MTHUNZI MHAGA: I enjoyed my time in government. I did my part but felt that it was now time for me to contribute at another level, but within the justice system. I changed how communication at NPA was structured by adopting an educational approach because I realised that our people lacked the knowledge of how the criminal justice system operates. I started having an impact on people. I served government for so long and left with an unblemished service of 17 years. I do not regret the time I spent in government. I had fun.
AN: Where did it all begin, leading up to you being one of the most popular spokespeople in the country?
MM: I started as a volunteer prosecutor at Butterworth because I could not get into the system, after applying and getting regrets in 1998 after graduating in BJuris and LLB. I volunteered for about two months. I was later placed at Lady Frere as a temporary prosecutor, and then moved to the Mthatha district court in September 1999. Within six months I was then promoted into the regional court. Within two years I was appointed as a state advocate in Mthatha in October 2002.
What really launched my career was the case of former MK cadre Sithembele Zuka who was murdered by Transkei police in 1988. It was the second TRC case and after I successfully prosecuted that case, advocate Vusi Pikoli visited our office and showed interest in me, saying I should come to Pretoria, and in 2007 I went.
Pikoli was later suspended and the whole TRC prosecutions fell apart and I became redundant in Pretoria and frustrated, not knowing what to do.
In 2009, Tladi Tladi left and Dr [Silas] Ramaite asked me to be a spokesperson because they needed someone who had legal expertise to communicate because there were complex cases such as that of [former president] Jacob Zuma. They did not want to take a risk with someone with only communications, they wanted someone who can articulate things legally.
I then did a stint in the presidency but realised that I did not want to be there. I returned to legal matters by becoming an adviser on the NPA and Special Investigation Unit matters.
In 2017, I felt it’s been six years in communication and I was becoming comfortable, but intellectually I was not growing, hence my decision to leave.
AN: During your illustrious career what would you say were your highlights?
MM: The highs were the case that launched my career when I successfully prosecuted the second TRC case which then got Pikoli to invite me to Pretoria.
In communication, It would be managing the [Shrien] Dewani [honeymoon murder] case, from a communication’s point of view, the [Jackie] Selebi case, the Nkandla case and the Mandela funeral.
AN: And the lows?
MM: When the TRC project became dysfunctional and I became redundant and frustrated because the project I had come for was not functional.
AN: Why did you leave government?
MM: The death of my mother in February last year was a defining moment. Lying awake the night before her funeral I heard a voice telling me to leave government and sit my bar exam. I decided there and then that I would do it.
After a taxing, torturous, stressful, exciting and nerve-wrecking eight-month programme where I had no salary and no income, I am pleased that God made it possible for me to pass outright. I can now go back to doing that which I am passionate about which is court work.
AN: What’s next for advocate Mhaga?
MM: I will open my own practice next month. I will join either the Pretoria or Johannesburg bar.
AN: Why not here at home?
MM: Depending on how my practice shapes up, I might open door chambers either in Mthatha or Bhisho. I will come home, but I have intentions of starting in the capital, in Gauteng...