Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former South African Police General Johan Booysen warns that unless the problems in the police and prosecution authorities are addressed, there is the risk of a ‘nuclear explosion that spirals out of control’.
Booysen began his career as an entry-level police officer, but quickly advanced through the ranks to become the provincial head of the Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2012, he and fellow officers in the Cato Manor organised crime unit were arrested on charges of murder, racketeering, and defeating justice.
He maintained his innocence, and the Durban High Court vindicated Booysen, ruling that there was insufficient evidence and that Booysen had been set up to halt corruption probes.
However, he was still forced to exit the South African Police Service and joined Fidelity Security to lead investigations into organised crime and cash-in-transit heists.
He has become a vocal critic of corruption within South African law enforcement and the government.
Speaking to Biznews, Booysen said the rot at South Africa’s struggling National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) runs deep.
His comments followed the suspension of Advocate Andrew Chauke, the Director of Public Prosecutions for South Gauteng.
He said Chauke’s suspension is long overdue. “He’s been responsible for a lot of people having difficult times. It’s time for him to face the music,” he said.
Booysen speculated that the suspension was a result of pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa due to the high-profile revelations about corruption in law enforcement.
He warned that there is a systemic collapse in South Africa’s criminal justice system, which threatens the stability of the country.
He said detectives are overwhelmed, courts are corrupted, prosecutors are colluding with defence attorneys, and lawlessness has become the norm.
“We’ve reached a critical mass point,” he warned. “If these issues are not properly addressed, we could see a vertical mass event – a nuclear explosion that spirals out of control.”
South Africa’s criminal justice system collapsing
Former South African Police General Johan Booysen
Booysen said revelations by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi shed light on the depth of the rot in South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Mkhwanazi claimed that a sophisticated criminal syndicate, controlled by a powerful drug cartel, has infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement agencies and the judiciary.
He accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering with sensitive police investigations and colluding with business figures to disband the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killings Task Team.
He claimed that the task team was on the verge of exposing the full extent of the syndicate’s operations in the Gauteng region.
This would have exposed a network of corrupt politicians, senior police officers, metro police officials, correctional services staff, and members of the judiciary.
Booysen said that although he cannot say whether Mkhwanazi’s allegations are factual, there has been a severe deterioration in the police’s ability to fight crime.
He added that the same thing is happening at South Africa’s courts, where the system is collapsing and unable to successfully prosecute criminals.
“We have a serious problem with prosecutors withdrawing cases and throwing them out. It is typically the same prosecutor doing the same thing over and over,” he said.
“It is clear to us that there must be collusion between defence lawyers and the prosecutors throwing out cases,” he said.
He added that the South African Police Service (SAPS) does not have enough detectives to investigate criminal cases.
“Unless something drastic is done, with the political will to see it through, there will be serious problems,” he said.
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