Former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head Johan Booysen captures in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 17, 2019. (Photo by Gallo Images/ Netwerk 24/ Felix Dlangamandla) The NPA has reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement with former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks boss Major General Johan Booysen. In 2019, Booysen filed a R7 million wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution damages suit against the state after being charged with racketeering and corruption.
The charges were authorised by the then acting national director of public prosecutions, Nomgcobo Jiba, in 2012. The racketeering charges were authorised following Booysen’s arrest of Colonel Navin Madhoe, during which allegations of bribery arose. Madhoe was arrested on 8 September 2011 following a sting operation by Booysen, during which Madhoe allegedly facilitated the bribe.
When the charges against Booysen were laid, the state believed it had a strong case against Booysen for allegedly accepting bribes from Madhoe. “What informed my decision to say there is a case, I was mindful that if I arrested him unlawfully, I would be sued. His fingerprint was found on a report that is strictly for the eyes of the police,” former senior prosecutor advocate Bheki Manyathi previously said at the state capture commission.
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When Judge Trevor Gorven dismissed criminal charges against Booysen in 2014, he said Jiba’s conduct was arbitrary, unlawful, and unconstitutional. Despite this, when Shaun Abrahams took over as NDPP in February 2016, he reinstated the charges. Following this, Booysen and the other accused brought high court applications to have the authorisations set aside.
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