Des Erasmus
The justice system spent much of 2025 caught between a public baying for consequences and court rolls buckling under complex, document-heavy prosecutions.
The year brought a series of arrests, new charges and trial dates — incremental steps, but steps nonetheless — suggesting that some cases are edging closer to the evidentiary test that commissions don’t provide.
The judge and her son
Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane and her son Kagiso were arrested in late November. The Hawks said the High Court Judge took more than R2 million in bribes linked to the long-running International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) succession battle she had been presiding over.
The Phalanes and their co-accused are facing corruption and money-laundering charges tied to alleged payments meant to influence the outcome of that civil dispute.
Released on bail, they are due back in court on 6 March 2026.
In 2026, watch for more judicial-governance
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