President Cyril Ramaphosa is ready to name the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

Ramaphosa will make the announcement at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Tuesday‚ the presidency said in a statement.

In November an eight-member panel led by cabinet minister Jeff Radebe interviewed 11 shortlisted candidates for the position. After the interviews‚ the panel came up with five prospective names‚ out of which Ramaphosa must make his decision.

The candidates are:

Shamila Batohi

The Sunday Times reported last month that the president was said to favour Batohi because she "checked all the boxes" for the post.

Batohi was evidence leader during the King Commission that investigated the Hansie Cronje match-fixing in cricket. Recently she was a legal adviser at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. She told the interview panel that fixing the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) required all hands on deck. She described the NPA as a house on fire and said the NDPP position would be like a shark tank.

Simphiwe Mlotshwa Mlotshwa‚ who was one of Batohi's deputies when she was director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal‚ told the interview panel that while he was acting director he was pressured to withdraw charges in the Amigos case in which two MECs were implicated.

He said he was removed as acting director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal and the charges were then withdrawn by the current director‚ Moipone Noko.

Siyabulela Mapoma

In their deliberations‚ some panel members appeared to favour Mapoma‚ who told them he was "very independent".

The former Transnet general manager said one of the qualities that made him an ideal candidate was his passion for law. He also said he was good at managing pressure‚ which in this role could come from everywhere - from society to the presidency.

Andrea Johnson

 A state prosecutor‚ Johnson seemed to have left an impact on viewers who watched the televised interviews. A clip of her bemoaning‚ in Zulu‚ the all-male interview panel went viral on social media. Johnson‚ part of the prosecution team against the late police commissioner Jackie Selebi‚ said if she were appointed NDPP there would be a major shake-up at the NPA.

Rodney de Kock De Kock is the director of public prosecutions in the Western Cape. He told the panel that there was instability in the NPA and he believed in leading by example.

- TMG Digital.