Zondo blasts ANC over Scorpions shutdown
Former South African Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2022 when Zondo handed final reports from the State Capture Commission held by Zondo Commission
image: Awake Mzansi on Facebook
by Mathipa Phishego
In a blistering critique that cuts to the heart of South Africa’s battle against corruption. Former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has launched a scathing attack on the ANC’s 2007 decision to disband the Directorate of Special Operations, widely known as the Scorpions. Speaking at the South African Council of Churches’ anti-corruption conference on Wednesday, Zondo did not mince words as he accused the ruling party of gutting one of the country’s most feared and effective anti-corruption units. A move he said directly undermined the fight against state capture and organized crime.
“In the early 2000s, we had the Scorpions, which were very effective in fighting corruption. The criminals had begun to fear them. But in the 2007 ANC elective conference, a resolution was taken to disband them. My faith in the Hawks is not the same as the faith I had in the Scorpions.” said Zondo, visibly seething.
His remarks mark one of the most direct and public indictments of the ANC’s role in weakening South Africa’s justice system. The Scorpions, established in 1999 gained a reputation for their elite investigations into high-level corruption, boasting a near-mythical status in the early 2000s. But their aggressive pursuit of political figures including those within the ANC, made them enemies in high places.
By January 2009, the Scorpions were officially shut down and replaced by the Hawks (the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation). An organization, Zondo, now says it lacks both the teeth and independence of its predecessor. The former Chief Justice, who chaired the landmark Zondo Commission into State Capture, emphasized that political interference had weakened South Africa’s law enforcement and criminal justice systems to dangerous levels.
Zondo warned that the dismantling of the Scorpions was not just a bureaucratic decision; it was a catastrophic blow to the rule of law. “The Hawks are not as effective. And we need to be honest about that,” said former Chief Justice.
Zondo’s comments come amid renewed public frustration over the slow pace of prosecutions in the wake of his commission’s damning findings. Billions were looted during the state capture era, yet few high-profile figures have been held accountable.
Critics have long argued that the closure of the Scorpions was a political manoeuvre to shield ANC members from prosecution. Zondo’s remarks will likely reignite calls for the re-establishment of an independent anti-corruption body, free from political control a demand echoed by civil society, the business sector, and constitutional scholars.
As South Africa continues to grapple with the legacy of state capture. Zondo’s warning is clear that without fearless, independent institutions, corruption will thrive, and criminals will never fear justice again.
