Justice and Constitutional Development on closure and investigation of the Masters’ Offices
4 February 2020
Ladies and gentlemen;
The purpose of this press conference is to inform our citizens that we are shutting down the Masters’ Office today. The President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has authorized the Special Investigation Unit to investigate allegations of maladministration, corruption and fraud in the office of the Master of the High Court country wide.
Following this proclamation, the Special Investigating Unit conducted a search and seizure operation today in the Masters’ Offices across the country. This investigation was necessitated by several allegations of maladministration and corruption and the Mpumalanga case wherein it is alleged that an official in the master’s amassed 1.7 Million through fraudulent activities which further highlighted the need for an investigation of this nature.
As a result, we will be shutting down all Masters’ Offices across the country to enable the SIU to gather, collate and retrieve information relevant to the investigation without any hindrance. All offices of the masters will be closed on 4th February and will reopen on Wednesday 5th February 2020.