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In the absence of adequate state protection, lynch mobs, self-appointed vigilante committees and groups and kangaroo courts gain in popularity, to the great prejudice of the institutions of state. The scourge that is called vigilantism – violently taking the law into...

Corrupt people are the bane of the life of the nation in SA, and indeed anywhere in the world where corruption is as rife as it is here. The President has referred to the ANC, his own party, as “Accused number One” in relation to the phenomenon of state capture, which...

The minister with final responsibility over the NPA cannot possibly have as chequered a past as Thembi Simelane, nor can Simelane legally dwell in the predicament in which she finds herself. The facts that are germane to the future of the new justice minister in the...

The interview the justice portfolio committee of the National Assembly conducted with justice minister Thembi Simelane on Friday was unedifying in many ways. The true issue at stake is whether because of her illegal dealings with VBS Mutual Bank, via the municipality...

Our new justice minister, Thembi Simelane, is in a uniquely awkward position while executive and prosecutorial dithering over her future continues (“No time for private scolding”, September 3). She stands accused by investigative journalists of impropriety, and...

By Paul Hoffman The success or otherwise of the efforts to counter corruption worldwide is dependent on the political will of those involved, not on whether the structure is of one kind or another. Perennially so, it is a lack of political will to counter corruption...

The following statements made by important South Africans in recent days need to be reconciled with the law, and with each other. This task is urgent. Retiring chief justice Raymond Zondo: “My hope is that mechanisms will be put in place to ensure we will never have a...

By Paul Hoffman If any other political party in the Government of National Unity were to promote unconstitutional notions that ignore the binding nature of court judgments and overlook the need for accountability under the rule of law, a tsunami of opprobrium would...

The constitution requires in section 96 that members of the executive may not expose themselves to any situation involving the risk of a conflict between their official responsibilities and private interests. Nor may they use their position to enrich themselves or...

By Paul Hoffman At present there is a crisis in Gauteng, the province in which half of the civil litigation in the country takes place. Backlogs of cases of all kinds continue to grow apace as the population grows and economic activity increases. The Constitution...

Paul Hoffman says the success of the GNU is critical to ensuring a country that can survive and thrive As the dust begins to settle around the controversially named Government of National Unity (GNU) and new political alliances begin to take shape, it is timely to...