Three senior anti-corruption investigators suspended in South Africa’s IDAC overhaul
Senior investigators at South Africa’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption have been suspended as the unit comes under a sharp internal reset ...
Three senior investigators at South Africa’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption have been suspended as the unit comes under a sharp internal reset ordered by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi.
The move affects chief investigator Dylan Perumal, senior investigator Brian Padayachee and investigator Sunil Belochan. Their suspensions come pending disciplinary action, a sign that the leadership wants to tighten controls inside the anti-corruption directorate while it reviews its work and staff conduct.
Wide-ranging audit under way
The overhaul does not stop with the three investigators. Authorities have ordered lifestyle audits for all 146 IDAC staff members, a full case audit and a review of every matter on the court roll to check whether charges have been correctly laid.
That is a blunt intervention. It suggests the directorate is not only looking at individual conduct, but also at how cases have been prepared and presented in court. For a unit built to pursue corruption, the scrutiny goes to the heart of its credibility.
Kubayi said she placed Perumal on suspension pending disciplinary action. Padayachee and Belochan were suspended by Mothibi. The split in responsibility underscores how closely the Justice Ministry and the prosecuting authority are now managing the cleanup.
Pressure builds around former leadership
The shake-up comes as former IDAC head Andrea Johnson faces separate scrutiny. The Hawks are investigating her criminally, and she is also the subject of an ethics complaint before the Legal Practice Council.
For IDAC, that creates a difficult backdrop. The unit is expected to investigate corruption with authority, yet its own ranks are now being examined, and its former chief is under two different processes. The message from the top is clear enough: the operation is being reset, and the review is not cosmetic.
The next steps will unfold inside the disciplinary process now underway. “The NDPP has started a disciplinary process within his purv...”
