Julius Malema rejects calls to scrap IDAC; South Africans divided by EFF leader’s reasoning

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has firmly rejected calls for the disestablishment of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), arguing that the unit remains a necessary component of South Africa’s criminal justice system.

We completely disagree with that approach. There’s nothing wrong with IDAC. IDAC was behaving in the manner it was behaving because there was no structure playing oversight over that structure.

Malema’s stance comes as an ad hoc committee of Parliament debates the future of the anti-corruption agency, with some political parties, including the MK Party, calling for its dissolution due to allegations of power abuse by senior officials. Committee member David Skosana argued that the agency’s powers are prone to abuse, drawing comparisons to the defunct Scorpions unit.

However, Malema contends that the introduction of judicial oversight has addressed previous concerns regarding the unit’s conduct. His defense of the institution stands in contrast to the growing scrutiny surrounding IDAC, which has faced intense questioning at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry regarding its mandate and the handling of high-profile investigations.