DA calls for swift probe into corruption claims in Chief Justice's office

13 June 2022

Note to Editors: Please find an attached soundbite by Adv Glynnis Breytenbach MP

The DA calls for the alleged corruption in the issuing of IT tenders by officials in the Office of the Chief Justice to be investigated as soon as possible.

This comes after media reports that the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) is in the process of investigating the R225 million technology agreement between Thomson Reuters and a subcontractor called ZA Square which appears, on the available information,  to be riddled with irregularities.

The contract was negotiated by three former employees of the Office of the Chief Justice: former CFO Casper Coetzee, spokeswoman Nathi Mncube, and case management director of the OCJ Yvonne van Niekerk.

It was later discovered that they own 30% of shares in ZA Square, a firm that was set to gain around R67.5 million from the contract they helped to set up. This reeks of corruption, and it needs to be investigated as soon as possible.

The Chief Justice's Office should be beyond reproach at all times and serve as a model of clean, corruption-free administration. It is deeply troubling that the OCJ's reputation and credibility is being jeopardised, especially on the eve of the release of the final Zondo report on Wednesday, June 15.

The DA calls on the OCJ to speedily investigate this deal, establish if any procurement procedures were flouted and why, and if so, hold all individuals who engaged in corrupt practises to account.

Issued by Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 13 June 2022