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 growing calls to dissolve the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), sparking a heated debate among South Africans regarding the unit’s future and the integrity of its oversight.

While several political factions and public commentators have advocated for the disestablishment of the IDAC—citing concerns over the abuse of its broad investigative powers—Malema has argued that the unit remains a vital component of the 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 defense of the IDAC comes at a time when the organization is undergoing a significant leadership transition following the resignation of its former head, Andrea Johnson. The EFF leader maintains that the introduction of judicial oversight is sufficient to correct previous institutional failures, rather than dismantling the body entirely.

However, the stance has left many South Africans divided. Critics of the IDAC argue that the unit’s history of controversy and its expansive police powers make it prone to political manipulation, regardless of oversight mechanisms. Supporters of Malema’s position, meanwhile, emphasize the necessity of a specialized, permanent anti-corruption unit within the National Prosecuting Authority to tackle high-level, complex corruption cases effectively.