The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has called for the immediate suspension of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head, Advocate Andrea Johnson, saying serious allegations before the Madlanga commission of inquiry have undermined confidence in her leadership.
The former president Jacob Zuma-led party made the call after a tumultuous week which saw Johnson being unable to testify at the Madlanga commission of inquiry after she fell ill. This resulted in commission chair, retired justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, labelling her medical certificate useless and subpoenaing her to the hearing.
On Friday, in a letter addressed to National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi and copied to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Mamoloko Kubayi and senior parliamentary leaders, the party, through its MP Mzwanele Manyi, who is a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, the MK Party requested that Johnson be suspended pending a formal inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
“I write to you in my capacity as whip of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s cluster on peace and security and as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, on behalf of the Official Opposition,” said Manyi.
Manyi added: “This letter constitutes a formal call for the immediate suspension of Adv Andrea Johnson as Head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, pending a formal inquiry into her fitness to hold office.”
Johnson’s alleged role in case involving Khan
The party’s call follows testimony before the Madlanga Commission concerning Johnson’s alleged role in a criminal investigation involving suspended Crime Intelligence Maj-Gen Feroz Khan.
According to the letter, retired Hawks Col Kobus Roelofse testified that he was placed under Johnson’s supervision while working at Idac, creating complications in handling a protected disclosure relating to her conduct.
The MK Party further referred to evidence before the commission alleging that Johnson shared the contents of an assault docket with Khan before investigators had taken his warning statement.
It said the allegations were sufficiently serious to warrant immediate action.
“These are matters of the gravest institutional concern,” the letter states. The head of Idac occupies the single most sensitive anti-corruption post in the criminal justice system. Allegations that she compromised an investigation into a serving crime intelligence officer… cannot be allowed to stand unresolved while she continues to exercise the full powers of her office,” said Manyi.
Failure to appear before commission
MK Party also criticised Johnson’s repeated failure to appear before the commission, where she was expected to answer questions relating to the allegations.
“Adv Johnson has now failed on repeated occasions to appear before the Commission to answer these allegations, each time citing medical certificates that the commission’s own chairperson, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, has publicly described as ‘useless’ for containing no verifiable information,” reads the letter of Manyi.
The MK Party argued that the issue extends beyond Johnson’s personal circumstances.
“This pattern is not a private medical matter. It is a public credibility matter,” he said.
The party also referred to reports that Johnson had previously sat on an interview panel that considered her husband’s employment during her tenure at the former Directorate of Special Operations, arguing that the issue should form part of any inquiry into her fitness for office.
In its demands to Mothibi, the MK Party called for Johnson’s immediate suspension with full pay while investigations continue.
It also requested that the NDPP establish a formal inquiry into her fitness to hold office and provide Parliament with a written response within seven days.
Despite its strong criticism, the party stressed that it was not alleging Johnson’s guilt.
Manyi said: “No finding of guilt has yet been made against Adv Johnson, and none is asserted here. Suspension pending inquiry is a precautionary and institutional safeguard, not a finding of wrongdoing. It exists precisely so that an office of this sensitivity is not compromised, in perception or in fact, while serious allegations against its head remain unresolved.”
The party warned that it would escalate the matter if no action were taken.
He said: “The uMkhonto weSizwe Party reserves the right to pursue further parliamentary and legal avenues, including formal questions to the executive and engagement through the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, should this call not receive a substantive response.”
- The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has called for the immediate suspension of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head, Advocate Andrea Johnson, saying serious allegations before the Madlanga commission of inquiry have undermined confidence in her leadership.
- The former president Jacob Zuma-led party made the call after a tumultuous week which saw Johnson being unable to testify at the Madlanga commission of inquiry after she fell ill.
- This resulted in commission chair, retired justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, labelling her medical certificate useless and subpoenaing her to the hearing.
- On Friday, in a letter addressed to National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi and copied to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Mamoloko Kubayi and senior parliamentary leaders, the party, through its MP Mzwanele Manyi, who is a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, the MK Party requested that Johnson be suspended pending a formal inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
- “I write to you in my capacity as whip of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s cluster on peace and security and as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, on behalf of the Official Opposition,” said Manyi.
