The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), commonly known as the Scorpions, was a specialised unit of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa formed by President Thabo Mbeki, tasked with investigating and prosecuting high-level and priority crimes including organised crime and corruption. An independent and multidisciplinary unit with a unique methodology which combined investigation, forensic intelligence, and prosecution, the Scorpions were known as an elite unit, and were involved in several extremely high-profile investigations, especially into the Arms Deal and into high-ranking African National Congress (ANC) politicians including Jackie Selebi, Jacob Zuma, and Tony Yengeni.
Nkosinathi Phiwayinkosi Thamsanqa Nhleko is a South African politician and former trade unionist from KwaZulu-Natal. He was the Minister of Police and Minister of Public Works in the second cabinet of President Jacob Zuma. In March 2024, he resigned from the African National Congress (ANC) and became the national organiser for Zuma's Umkhonto we Sizwe Party.
Charles Nqakula is a South African politician who served as Minister of Defence from September 2008 to 2009. He also served as Minister for Safety and Security from May 2002 to September 2008.
The National Treasury is one of the departments of the South African government. The Treasury manages national economic policy, prepares the South African government's annual budget and manages the government's finances. Along with the South African Revenue Service and Statistics South Africa, the Treasury falls within the portfolio of the Minister of Finance. Throughout the course of President Jacob Zuma's second administration, the ministry has undergone several changes. Most notably, Nhlanhla Nene was suddenly dismissed on 9 December 2015, without explanation, and replaced with a relatively unknown parliamentary back-bencher from the ruling ANC's caucus, David 'Des' van Rooyen for a record-total of 3 days. He was, in turn, replaced by Pravin Gordhan after the President faced significant pressure from political and business groups over the move. On 30 March 2017 Jacob Zuma axed Pravin Gordhan and appointed Malusi Gigaba as a Finance Minister. Following Zuma's resignation, President Cyril Ramaphosa returned Nhlanhla Nene as Minister in his cabinet reshuffle on 26 February 2018.
Frank Kennan Dutton SCOB was a South African police officer. The dominant theme in his career was the investigation and prosecution of people guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during South Africa's apartheid era. Dutton's work took place in South Africa as well as abroad. In South Africa, he helped expose the apartheid military's destabilization machinery, and later headed the Scorpions, the country's elite police force. He also worked with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The National Key Points Act, 1980 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that provides for the declaration and protection of sites of national strategic importance against sabotage, as determined by the Minister of Police since 2004 and the Minister of Defence before that. The act was designed during apartheid to secretly arrange protection primarily for privately owned strategic sites. It enables the government to compel private owners, as well as state-owned corporations, to safeguard such sites owned by them at their own cost. The act, still in force and unamended since apartheid, came under the spotlight after President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead was declared a National Key Point in 2010 amid controversy over public expenditure on upgrades to the property. As of 2013, the act is officially under review.
The ministry of the Internal Affairs Republic of Croatia is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of state security among other roles. Croatian Police is a public service of the Ministry of the Interior.
Tina Monica Joemat-Pettersson was a South African politician who served as the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police from July 2019 until her death in June 2023. A member of the African National Congress, Joemat-Petterson had previously served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 2009 until 2014 and as the Minister of Energy from May 2014 until March 2017 under President Jacob Zuma.
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2014 until 2015, and as Minister of Public Enterprises since February 2018.
Lieutenant General Richard Naggie Mdluli was the head of Police Crime Intelligence in South Africa from 2009 to 2012. He was replaced by Chris Ngcobo.
State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage.
The private residence of former South African President Jacob Zuma is situated about 24 km (15 mi) south of the rural town of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal and is commonly referred to as the Nkandla homestead. During Zuma's presidency, the homestead was the subject of a major public controversy, sometimes referred to as Nkandlagate, concerning what were ostensibly security upgrades to Zuma's compound, at a cost of over R246 million. The use of public funds to make these improvements received significant media coverage and political opposition.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, is the branch of the South African Police Service which investigates organised crime, economic crime, corruption, and other serious crime referred to it by the President or another division of the police. The unit was established in 2008 by President Jacob Zuma to replace the disbanded Scorpions.
David Mahlobo is a South African politician and Deputy Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation. He is a former Minister of Energy and former Minister of State Security.
The Gupta family is a wealthy and influential business family from India, with close ties to former South African President Jacob Zuma and his administration. The family's most notable members are the brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol.
Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2016] ZACC 11 is an important judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which finds that President Jacob Zuma breached the South African Constitution by failing to implement the recommendations in the Public Protector's Nkandla report.
Ayanda Dlodlo is a South African politician and former cabinet minister. A former member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, she became a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress (ANC) in 2009. Thereafter, she was appointed Minister of Communications (2017), Minister of Home Affairs (2017–2018), Minister of Public Service and Administration, and Minister of State Security (2019–2021).
Makhotso Magdeline "Maggie" Sotyu is a South African politician who is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries since May 2019. She has been a deputy minister since 2010, formerly as Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture and Deputy Minister of Police, and has represented the African National Congress in the National Assembly since June 1999.
The Portfolio Committee on Police is a portfolio committee of the National Assembly in the Parliament of South Africa.
