Three Pretoria High Court Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) officials were placed on immediate precautionary suspension on Wednesday, the OCJ confirmed.
“The three officials, who cannot be named at this time, are suspects in an ongoing investigation by the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) looking into fraudulent and corrupt activities in the court.
Zero-tolerance to fraud and corruption
“The OCJ takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption, and the officials were therefore placed on precautionary suspension to allow investigations to proceed without being compromised,” said the OCJ.
On Tuesday, Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said the Serious Corruption Investigation component at their head office conducted a search and seizure operation at the Pretoria High Court.
Mogale stated that the operation relates to allegations of fraudulent Notices of Motion being unlawfully issued by an identified employee of that court.
“It is alleged that the said employee has been issuing fraudulent Notices of Motion to undocumented foreign nationals to prevent their deportation to their countries of origin. This matter was formally reported to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in March 2025.
“This search and seizure operation specifically targeted one office. Also an individual believed to be central to the commission of these offences. Exhibits were seized for further investigation,” said Mogale.
Labour court challenged
Meanwhile, in March, Sunday World reported that the Labour Court in Durban faces serious allegations. These include fraud, corruption and maladministration, and implicate several prominent judicial figures. The figures include Judge President Basheer Wagley, Judge Benita Whitcher and acting Judge Ralph Mhlanga.
Durban resident Darius Naidoo filed an official complaint with the Judicial Conduct Committee last November. He claims to be a victim of judicial malpractice. And this brings to light serious accusations against the high-ranking judicial officials.
Naidoo’s grievances stem from a labour dispute with Old Mutual. He argues that it was mishandled due to judicial corruption and fraud.
“I am a victim of fraud,” Naidoo states.
Naidoo alleges that the court overlooked forged documents and issued improper orders. This compromised the integrity of the justice system, he argued. He does not state the nature of his dispute with Old Mutual.
State of legal limbo
According to Naidoo, his initial complaint against Whitcher in October 2021. This was regarding “allegations involving bribery and corruption”, and it was dismissed by Wagley.
Despite appealing against this decision, Naidoo claims that it was never addressed. This left him in a state of legal limbo.
The controversy took a new twist in 2022 when the court manager, Thulani Vilakazi, placed the case back on the roll. This was despite earlier claims that Naidoo’s case could not be heard.
Naidoo alleges that this action was directed by Wagley, who appointed Mhlanga to preside over the matter.
And Naidoo claims he was not informed of these developments until October 2024.
