Our Viewpoint | Johnson’s untenable tenure

Andrea Johnson’s position as head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) has become untenable. Johnson went before the Madlanga Commission last week as the head of an institution entrusted with investigating some of the most serious allegations of corruption in the country. What followed was deeply damaging.

In the case of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele, Johnson had described her as an unqualified civilian whose appointment amounted to a “token appointment” Yet under questioning, Johnson admitted that she had not seen Mokwele’s CV, qualifications or application documents. When those documents were put before the commission, Johnson withdrew the remark and apologised. But the problem went much further than a badly chosen phrase.

Johnson had submitted an affidavit to the commission that repeated the incorrect claim about Mokwele’s qualifications. She eventually conceded: “It is incorrect what I stated in the affidavit. That means the necessary checks were apparently not done when Idac investigated the matter.

[paywall]

More seriously, they were still not done before Johnson placed her evidence before the commission. Perhaps Johnson had complete confidence in her investigators and the information they had given her. If so, that confidence was badly misplaced.

But that does not absolve her. Johnson heads Idac. She signed the affidavit.

She defended the work of the directorate. The responsibility for ensuring that allegations were properly checked before being used against people rests ultimately with her. She also conceded that she had erred in concluding that the case against Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo fell within Idac’s mandate.

These are not matters of interpretation or competing versions. The facts are increasingly black and white. Idac has enormous power.

Its investigations can lead to arrests, prosecutions, damaged careers and destroyed reputations. Those powers cannot be exercised on information that has not been properly tested. Johnson may well have arrived at the commission believing that Idac occupied the moral and ethical high ground.

Her position is no longer defensible. She must either resign or be fired.

[/paywall]