By Dylan Bettencourt
- Former chief justice Raymond Zondo says he has lost faith in Hawks and believes they are failing in the fight against corruption.
- Zondo criticises National Prosecuting Authority for dropping cases without reasons, saying weak prosecution damages public trust.
Former chief justice Raymond Zondo says he has lost faith in the Hawks, and believes they are failing in their fight against corruption.
Speaking at an SA Council of Churches anti-corruption conference in Johannesburg, Zondo said he had more trust in the Scorpions, who were disbanded by the ANC in 2007.
“In the early 2000s, the Scorpions were highly effective. Criminals feared them,” he said. “But I don’t believe the Hawks are up to their job.”
He gave the example of the complaints laid by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA board in 2017, when Popo Molefe was chair, which were linked to findings by the State Capture Commission.
Even five years later, Zondo said, when his commission handed over its final report, there were still no arrests.
“The Hawks said they were still investigating, but their reasons for the delay were not good enough. Today, there are still no arrests,” he said.
Zondo also criticised the National Prosecuting Authority, saying South Africans are frustrated because the agency drops cases without giving reasons.
“When they say they are withdrawing charges, we must know it is in good faith,” he said. “We cannot afford to have a weak NPA.”
He warned that when high-profile corruption cases are handled poorly, it damages public trust. “The NPA is critically important. It must do its job.”
Zondo welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to give full control of resources, staff and budgets to the judiciary.
He said the judiciary should be able to manage its own operations without relying on other arms of the state.
“We ask for nothing more than what the other arms of the state have,” he said. “Let us control our operations, so society can hold us accountable without excuses.”
But Zondo warned that the Judicial Service Commission, which appoints judges, was vulnerable to political capture.
He said the Constitution allowed the president and the majority party to have too much control over who sits on the JSC.
He called for reforms and said more judges must be included to protect the independence of the courts.
“We’ve been lucky for 30 years, but this risk still looms,” he said. “Churches should also speak out and push for these reforms.”
Zondo said whistleblowers must be protected, and even rewarded, if South Africa wants to stop corruption.
“Some whistleblowers have lost jobs, their homes, and moved their kids to cheaper schools,” he said.
He said reporting corruption might be a civic duty in countries with low crime, but not in South Africa. “Here, we don’t have that luxury.”
Pictured above: Former chief justice Raymond Zondo.
Image source: Rhodes University
