Commission of Inquiry into the Directorate of Special Operations
Estimated cost to taxpayer
Cost not yet disclosed
Duration
9 months
Sitting days
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Cost per sitting day
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Cost figures are sourced from parliamentary questions and auditor-general reports. Some figures are estimates.
The Scorpions were a very powerful special police unit that investigated big criminals and corrupt officials. This commission was asked: should the Scorpions keep working separately or be put under the normal police? Many people believe this commission was used to get rid of the Scorpions because they were too close to catching important politicians.
This commission investigated: The ScorpionsDISBANDED
What the unit was for
To investigate and prosecute serious organised crime and high-level corruption using an integrated "troika" approach combining prosecutors, criminal investigators, and forensic analysts in one team. Unlike SAPS, the Scorpions sat within the NPA — enabling prosecution-led investigations where prosecutors directed evidence collection from the start.
What the commission found
Recommended the Scorpions continue independently. The report was suppressed for nine years and only released in 2015. The Scorpions were disbanded in 2008 regardless of the finding.
What actually happened
The 287 cases transferred to the Hawks produced 38 convictions from 261 arrests — a dramatic drop in outcomes. ANC stalwart and former Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha later admitted: "The mistake was to destroy the good structures that we had established... I still believe it was a fundamental mistake to do away with the Scorpions." Former Zondo Commission chair Raymond Zondo also criticised the disbanding. In 2024 Parliament amended the NPA Act to create IDAC — widely seen as a partial attempt to restore Scorpions-style capabilities.
→ Full profile: The Scorpions(DSO)
Editorial note: compare what Khampepe Commission formally found with what happened to The Scorpions afterward — the divergence is often the most important part of the record.
The official report for Khampepe Commission has not been published or linked yet.
Created under
Constitution Section 84(2)(f)
When The Record links coverage to this commission, related stories will appear in this list.
No formal recommendations have been captured for Khampepe Commission yet.
This story has no events in The Record yet—when reporting is linked, they will show along the spine.
Outcome
Report released · 1 January 2015
Recommended the Scorpions continue independently. The report was suppressed for nine years and only released in 2015. The Scorpions were disbanded in 2008 regardless of the finding.
Related