President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head Andrea Johnson vacating her post with immediate effect, requesting that her three-month notice period be waived.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday morning that he had “in terms of section 12(8)(a) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998 accepted the request by Adv Andrea Johnson, the Investigating Director of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), to vacate office with immediate effect”.
Ramaphosa’s agreement followed a recommendation by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi, and supported by National Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Andy Mothibi, that Johnson’s request to leave immediately be granted.
Ramaphosa thanked Johnson for her “years of service in the NPA and as the head of IDAC. The President assures the leadership and staff of the NPA of government’s unwavering support for its work in the fight against crime and corruption”.
Reports on Sunday revealed that Johnson had, in a letter to Mothibi, asked to be allowed to vacate her office within 24 hours, saying the move would “serve the institutions and the country best”.
The NPA on Sunday confirmed that Mothibi had received Johnson’s letter and was processing it. The Presidency and Johnson had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication on Sunday.
Johnson is due to continue her testimony to the Madlanga Commission on Monday.
Three days of scrutiny
Over three days of evidence, commissioners repeatedly questioned her over allegations that she gave the suspended deputy head of Crime Intelligence, Major General Feroz Khan, access to an assault and intimidation docket before he submitted his warning statement.
The commission heard that Brigadier Leonora Phetlhe opened an assault and intimidation case against Khan following an altercation at Crime Intelligence headquarters in 2018. Her statement was taken at Silverton Police Station, and a J88 medical report was completed.
Retired Hawks colonel Kobus Roelofse testified that Khan appeared to have had access to Phetlhe’s complaint before he made his warning statement, describing the sharing of the docket as improper. He also alleged that Khan seemed to know in advance when investigators intended to interview him.
The commission has raised questions about Idac’s prosecution of Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and other officials. Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Mothibi reportedly met Johnson to raise concerns about the evidence shortly before her resignation letter was submitted.
Johnson invokes right against self-incrimination
When she first testified, Johnson invoked her constitutional right against self-incrimination when questioned about allegations that she emailed Khan details from the investigation docket, arguing that the commission’s fact-finding powers did not override that protection.
She acknowledged that the National Prosecuting Authority was considering whether she should face prosecution in relation to the Khan allegations.
Johnson also testified that although she had known Khan personally, she deliberately limited contact with him during 2024 after media reports linked him to the murders of insolvency liquidators Cloete and Thomas Murray.
Her appearance before the commission had already been delayed after she failed to appear on 13 July, with her legal team citing hospitalisation. Commission chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga dismissed the medical certificate submitted on her behalf as “useless” and said the circumstances surrounding her absence would be scrutinised. DM
