South Africa: Pretoria High Court Officials Placed On Precautionary Suspension

Three officials from the Pretoria High Court have been suspended. This follows allegations of fraud and corruption. The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) confirmed this news.

The officials cannot be named at this time. They are suspects in an ongoing investigation by the Hawks. This unit is part of the South African Police Service and focuses on serious crimes.

The OCJ stated it has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and corruption. The suspensions allow investigations to proceed without interference.

These suspensions come after Chief Justice Mandisa Maya visited the Mthatha High Court. Reports indicated that some officials may be involved in a bribery scheme. They allegedly solicited payments from advocates for tasks they should already perform, like finding missing files and scheduling trials.

An internal investigation is underway, along with a criminal probe by the police.

The OCJ mentioned it first learned about these allegations in December 2024. Following this, they launched a forensic investigation under their Fraud Prevention and Anti-Corruption Policy. They are collaborating with law enforcement agencies during this process.

The OCJ has been careful about sharing details with the media. They aim to protect future legal processes and investigations. The office emphasized its reliance on all stakeholders, including the media, to maintain integrity in handling complaints about fraud and corruption.