Former SAPS General Johan Booysen on Zuma’s NPA henchman Chauke’s suspension and Mkhwanazi bombshell

Former SAPS General Johan Booysen, the honest cop who was publicly harassed and then suspended for doing his job too well, shares his insights into the long-overdue suspension of political-appointment Adv Andrew Chauke. He also provides context on fellow KZN top cop Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s bombshell disclosures of abuses by criminals and their puppet politicians that have numerous parallels to Booysen’s own experiences. Gen Booysen spoke to BizNews editor Alec Hogg..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..Watch here:.Listen here:.BizNews Reporter.The suspension of Advocate Andrew Chauke, the Director of Public Prosecutions for South Gauteng, signals what could be a long-overdue reckoning inside South Africa’s prosecutorial ranks. While official statements tread lightly, former KZN Hawks boss General Johan Booysen has no such restraint.Speaking to BizNews, Booysen said the rot at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) runs deep, linking Chauke to what he calls the remnants of the “Jiba faction” - a term rooted in his explosive testimony before the Zondo Commission.“It’s long overdue,” Booysen said of Chauke’s suspension. “He’s been responsible for a lot of people having difficult times. And yes, I think it’s time for him to face the music.”The death squad that wasn’tChauke’s name surfaced frequently in relation to controversial prosecutions, including the infamous charges levelled at Booysen himself in 2010 when he was accused of running a “death squad” in the Cato Manor Serious and Violent Crime Unit. The case collapsed under judicial scrutiny, with Judge Koen ruling there was no evidence linking Booysen to any of the alleged crimes. Yet the machinery behind the accusations pressed on.Booysen traced the saga to a broader pattern of state capture, where senior prosecutors allegedly acted not in the interests of justice but as political hitmen. “When I concluded my evidence at the Zondo Commission, I warned that unless the remnants of the Jiba faction were removed, the NPA would remain captured,” he said.The general’s warning now appears prophetic.A pattern of prosecutorial abuseFormer NDPPs, including the controversial Advocate Nomgcobo Jiba and her successor Shaun Abrahams, are central to Booysen’s story. He recounted how his original charges were dropped under Advocate Mxolisi Nxasana, only to be reinstated by Abrahams after Nxasana was ousted. Evidence emerged that prosecutors fabricated parts of the case against him - including false claims in official memorandums - yet years later, no one has been held to account.“I laid charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice as far back as 2016. The matter is still with the Investigative Directorate,” Booysen said. “It’s not a complicated case. Any first-year law student would see it’s a straightforward fraud matter.”He’s lost patience. His attorneys have now given notice to the head of the Investigative Directorate, Advocate Andrea Johnson, that if no prosecutorial decision is made soon, they will pursue private prosecution. “I told her in no uncertain terms I will not leave this matter,” he added.So why now?What makes Chauke’s suspension especially telling is its timing.Booysen speculates that pressure on the Presidency may have finally reached a tipping point. NDPP Shamila Batohi allegedly recommended Chauke’s suspension two years ago. Only now, after fierce public criticism, whistleblower revelations from within the police, and growing concern from international actors such as the US Congress, has President Cyril Ramaphosa acted.“It might be speculation, but I think Shamila told him, 'I asked for this two years ago,' and now he’s finally moved,” Booysen said..Read more:.BN Briefing: ANC sanctions, Nkabane response, Trump's $1trn prod, Epstein files, Jozi's green battle.A familiar script in KwaZulu-NatalHe also drew a sharp parallel between his own experience and that of current KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Like Booysen, Mkhwanazi faces accusations - some whispered, some loud - of leading a so-called death squad. Both men have made enemies in high places and have challenged powerful interests. The difference now, Booysen noted, is that business in KwaZulu-Natal is rallying behind Mkhwanazi. In his own ordeal, he was left to fend for himself.“During my trials, I became a leper,” Booysen said bluntly.The risk of systemic collapseWhat he fears most is not an individual scandal, but systemic collapse. He described a criminal justice system on the brink - detectives overwhelmed, courts corrupted, prosecutors colluding with defence attorneys, and lawlessness festering as 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.”In Palm Ridge court, for instance, Booysen says his Fidelity investigators routinely encounter a single prosecutor who throws out case after case. “It becomes evident there’s collusion. And it’s always the same person,” he noted grimly.International pressure mountsThe situation is not just domestic. The United States is watching. Congressman John James’s Magnitsky-style sanctions bill targeting corrupt South African officials has cleared committee stage. Booysen acknowledged that sustained foreign pressure may be one of the few levers still capable of forcing reform.“We need institutions like Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation to keep their foot on the pedal,” he said. “In the past, once attention shifted, nothing happened.”Booysen remains skeptical that anything will change unless there is visible political will. But he still clings to a bitter optimism.The truth took time - But it did prevail“I didn’t set out to be a hero,” he said. “I had no choice but to fight for survival. In the end, the truth prevailed.”And perhaps, for South Africa’s justice system, this long overdue suspension signals the beginning of that same path.

Former SAPS General Johan Booysen on Zuma’s NPA henchman Chauke’s suspension and Mkhwanazi bombshell

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