The eagle and the fallen man: Ngcukaitobi’s brilliance, Mchunu’s undoing

There are moments in the life of a nation when a single figure rises above the ordinary, and in our legal fraternity that figure is Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC. He is no mere advocate. He is an eagle, soaring with a vision and precision that few can match.

To take silk after only ten years at the Bar is not simply an achievement; it is a testament to a mind forged in brilliance and discipline, a rare jewel polished by relentless pursuit of excellence.

Ngcukaitobi does not merely argue cases; he conducts them like symphonies. Every pause, every gesture, and every modulation of his voice is deliberate, calculated, and devastatingly effective. He knows the weight of silence, the power of restraint, and the elegance of timing.

It is said that he once studied drama alongside law at the University of Transkei, and indeed, that training has become the invisible thread woven through his advocacy. He does not perform in the garish Hollywood-style theatrics of American courts; he embodies the subtle, dignified theatre of South Africa’s legal tradition.

And yet, even the most brilliant eagle cannot rescue a drowning man who refuses to swim. Ngcukaitobi must have known that on-special-leave Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was beyond salvation on the hard terrain of evidence led so far at the Madlanga Commission. The lies were tangled, the arrogance too thick, the missteps too fatal. So when he rose before the Madlanga Commission, it was not to untangle the impossible but to attempt something more elusive. A redemption in the eyes of the public.

With sleight of hand, Ngcukaitobi bent the boundaries of re-examination, crafting questions that restored Mchunu’s confidence, giving him a stage upon which to profess innocence. It was a masterstroke: a perfectly curated theatre, a chance for Mchunu to reclaim dignity.

But the stage collapsed beneath him. Even with Ngcukaitobi’s brilliance as scaffolding, Mchunu faltered. His answers were incoherent and long-winded, dripping with the same arrogance that had brought him to this point. Instead of redemption, he revealed only his own emptiness. The eagle had built him wings, but Mchunu chose to stumble.

When Madlanga Commission's evidence leader, Advocate Sello Mahlape SC intervened, cutting short Ngcukaitobi’s daring manoeuvre, the moment was lost forever. What could have been Mchunu’s one chance to reshape public perception dissolved into futility. The brilliance of Ngcukaitobi’s strategy was undeniable, but even brilliance cannot redeem the irredeemable.

Senzo Mchunu’s political career now lies fatally wounded, undone not by Ngcukaitobi’s craft but by his own arrogance. Ngcukaitobi gave him a stage, a chance, a fleeting moment of grace. Mchunu squandered it.

There is no saving him now.

(Dube is a noted political economist, businessperson, and social commentator on Ukhozi FM. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL. For further reading and perspectives, visit: http://www.ncodube.blog)

SUNDAY TRIBUNE