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Legalbrief   |   your legal news hub Friday 15 May 2026

Justice Minister wants rid of the Scorpions

Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla yesterday urged the Khampepe Commission to move the Scorpions unit from her department’s control.

The commission, headed by Judge Sisi Khampepe, is conducting public hearings into the future of the Scorpions (the Directorate of Special Operations), currently attached to the National Prosecuting Authority. Although she did not say where the unit should move to, Mabandla said the relationship between the police and the Scorpions had ‘irretrievably’ broken down and the lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the two agencies might undermine law enforcement, stability and security. A Business Day report says Mabandla’s submission will come as a boost to the SAPS’ call for the unit to be moved into its control. And according to a report on the IoL site, Advocate Dabi Khumalo, delivering Mabandla’s submission, added that in an effort to determine the location of the DSO, the issue should be considered from the beginning with all stakeholders establishing whether the reasons for the initial establishment of the organisation still existed today. Full report on the IoL site Full Business Day report