IDAC faces fresh scrutiny as former boss remains under investigation
CAPE TOWN — South Africa’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is facing scrutiny on two fronts after National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi confirmed that former IDAC head Andrea Johnson remains under investigation, while Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi continues to defend the watchdog appointed to oversee the directorate against claims of political bias.
Batohi told Parliament on Thursday that Johnson’s departure from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) did not end investigations into allegations concerning her conduct.
Johnson resigned earlier this year after leading IDAC, the NPA’s specialised unit responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious corruption and organised crime.
“She’s not off the hook,” Batohi told MPs, explaining that investigations involving Johnson were continuing despite her no longer being employed by the prosecuting authority.
The allegations include claims raised by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi concerning the handling of investigations and alleged interference within criminal justice institutions.
Batohi did not suggest that Johnson had been found guilty of wrongdoing. The investigations remain ongoing and no criminal finding against her was announced during the parliamentary proceedings.
The confirmation comes as IDAC’s new oversight structure faces a separate political dispute.
Kubayi this week rejected calls to reconsider retired judge Takalani Raulinga’s appointment as the inaugural IDAC Ombud after the MK Party questioned whether his longstanding friendship with President Cyril Ramaphosa could undermine perceptions of his independence.
Raulinga disclosed during a Judicial Service Commission interview in 2015 that he had known Ramaphosa for more than 40 years.
MK Party MP Mzwanele Manyi has cited that relationship in challenging Raulinga’s suitability to oversee complaints against IDAC investigators.
Kubayi rejected the argument, saying a personal relationship does not automatically prevent a judge from exercising independent professional judgment. The MK Party has not produced evidence that Raulinga has improperly intervened in an IDAC investigation or protected Ramaphosa. (ewn.co.za)
The minister also criticised Johnson over the way Raulinga’s appointment first became public.
Johnson told Parliament in November 2025 that Raulinga had been appointed as IDAC Ombud, months before the government formally announced him in July 2026.
Kubayi said Johnson disclosed the appointment before administrative processes had been completed and before a formal appointment letter had been issued.
According to the minister, regulations governing the Ombud’s office still had to be finalised at the time.
The two issues are separate. Batohi’s confirmation that investigations involving Johnson continue does not establish that they concern her disclosure of Raulinga’s appointment, nor does the controversy surrounding Raulinga establish wrongdoing by the Ombud.
Together, however, they place renewed attention on the governance of an institution entrusted with some of South Africa’s most sensitive corruption investigations.
IDAC was made a permanent entity within the NPA to strengthen the state’s capacity to pursue serious and complex corruption cases. The Ombud’s office was subsequently established as an independent mechanism for complaints about abuse of power, misconduct and maladministration by IDAC investigators.
That makes confidence in both IDAC and the office overseeing it particularly important as Parliament examines allegations of political interference and misconduct across the criminal justice system.
Batohi told MPs that investigations concerning Johnson would continue through the appropriate processes despite her resignation.
Kubayi, meanwhile, has given no indication that government intends to reconsider Raulinga’s five-year appointment on the basis of the objections raised by the MK Party.
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