 In early March 1998 he led the ANC's charge against the Medicines Control Council for refusing to allow the testing of Virodene on human subjects.He suggested that the MCC was acting under the sway of rival pharmaceutical manufacturers saying "I surmise that the council is driven by other interests than concern for proper control of medicines".Motlanthe caused some controversy in South Africa when he did not reinstate the Head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Vusi Pikoli in December 2008.