Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Adv Andrea Johnson has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa and National Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Andy Mothibi to release her from office immediately, saying sustained attacks against her and the unit have created reputational risks for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
In a letter addressed to Mothibi and copied to Ramaphosa, Johnson requested that her resignation be accepted and that her contractual three-month notice period be waived, allowing her to vacate her office within 24 hours.
Johnson said the decision followed five months of “unprecedented” attacks against her personally and in her official capacity, which she linked largely to IDAC investigations and prosecutions involving officials from Crime Intelligence.
“The recent five months or so have been challenging, and the attacks on both my person and official capacity have been unprecedented,” Johnson wrote.
She said the attacks had generated negative attention not only for her, but also for IDAC and the NPA.
“This in itself, let alone the attacks on me, does not sit well with me. I have given thirty years of service to an organisation I love dearly. I cannot be the reason that there is so much negative attention and reputational risk to IDAC and the NPA,” she wrote.
Johnson is currently testifying before a commission of inquiry, where she said the issues raised against her were “in the main” connected to crime and intelligence-related matters.
She warned that resolving the allegations through a formal process could result in another costly and lengthy commission.
“The allegations against me must still be proven, but that will again require the setting up of a commission and a process which are both costly and time-consuming,” Johnson wrote.
She said South Africa could not afford another commission, particularly while the country remained under scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), where IDAC’s role contributed to the country’s compliance efforts.
“The country cannot afford another commission. SA is also under Financial Action Task Force (‘FATF’) scrutiny, and all of this given that IDAC plays a pivotal role in the output to FATF is another consequence we cannot afford,” she wrote.
Johnson said the outcome of any inquiry into her fitness to hold office was uncertain and cited the previous hearing involving Johannesburg NPA head Adv Andrew Chauke as an example of the potential consequences of such processes.
She disclosed that she had already applied for retirement, having turned 55 and approaching her 56th birthday, but said she feared that her departure could become the subject of legal challenges if not handled carefully.
“I do not want to draw either of your offices into any court challenges,” she wrote, adding that she wanted to exit with “as minimal disruption as possible”.
Johnson said she believed an immediate release from office would serve the interests of both the NPA and IDAC.
“The NPA and IDAC must and will always come first, and I believe that this resignation in the manner proposed would serve the institutions and the country best,” she wrote.
- Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) head Adv Andrea Johnson has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa and National Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Andy Mothibi to release her from office immediately, saying sustained attacks against her and the unit have created reputational risks for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
- In a letter addressed to Mothibi and copied to Ramaphosa, Johnson requested that her resignation be accepted and that her contractual three-month notice period be waived, allowing her to vacate her office within 24 hours.
- Johnson said the decision followed five months of “unprecedented” attacks against her personally and in her official capacity, which she linked largely to IDAC investigations and prosecutions involving officials from Crime Intelligence.
- “The recent five months or so have been challenging, and the attacks on both my person and official capacity have been unprecedented,” Johnson wrote.
- She said the attacks had generated negative attention not only for her, but also for IDAC and the NPA.
