Retired Judge President Malesela Francis Legodi briefing the media in the Western Cape.
Image: Robin-Lee Francke / IOL
Retired Judge President Malesela Francis Legodi visited the Western Cape as part of his provincial roadshow as the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Judge on Friday.
In a briefing with the media on Friday, Judge Legodi said he was doing the roadshow not only to explain his office’s mandate but also to interact with members of the DPCI (known as Hawks) and express how the mistakes made can be avoided.
Judge Legodi was appointed by the Minister of Police on May 15, 2024, for a three-year term and has been active in the role throughout 2025 and 2026. His office handles complaints regarding serious infringements of rights by DPCI investigators and reports of improper influence or interference within the Hawks.
“Our mandate is to receive complaints from the members of the public against members of the Hawks. In terms of legislation, we are also entitled to receive information and or complaints from members of the Hawks themselves,” Judge Legodi said.
He said his office will investigate every complaint, without fear, favour, or prejudice.
“We have decided to interact with the members of the Hawks and also to try and indicate to them that some of the complaints which are man-made can easily be avoided by following the prescribed,” he said.
According to Judge Legodi, since he has taken office, there has been a backlog of complaints, but, with confidence, he stated that they are making good progress in clearing this backlog.
He stated that the majority of complaints stemmed from Gauteng and Western Cape, from members of the public, as these are the busiest provinces.
The DPCI Judge addressing members of the Hawks in the Western Cape.
Image: Robin-Lee Francke / IOL
His office has also received roughly five complaints from members of the Hawks, two of which had been referred to his office by the provincial head of the Hawks.
“The number of complaints can be avoided. The bulk of complaints is the failure to give feedback to the public or victims. We feel this can be avoided. We also receive complaints of delays in finalisation of cases and sometimes complaints that the matter was not competently investigated,” Judge Legodi said.
While there is no office for the DPCI Judge in all provinces, Judge Legodi said this cannot be excluded in the long run, as many should remember these complaints do not only come from people living within the cities.
Judge Legodi said he was also thinking of engaging with the National Police Commissioner for its cooperation where members of the public could get information about his office, its mandate, a form, and even contact his office from police stations.
For the 2025/26 financial year, the DPCI Judge's office received 102 new cases. Of those, 43 of the cases were within its mandate, and 59 cases were outside of its mandate.
A total of 97 cases have been finalised during this period. Of the 97 cases finalised, 41 cases were within the mandate, and 56 were outside of its mandate. The office of the DPCI Judge also recommended remedial measures be taken, and during the 2025/26 period, nine cases were recommended.
Members of the public are urged to file their complaints using different channels.
The office of the DPCI Judge: 012 493 1273
Contacting the director of the office at: 082 803 9124
Emailing complaints to: complaints@dpcijudge@gov.za
According to Judge Legodi, once a member of the public or Hawks has filed a complaint, within 24 hours, a meeting will be called, and the matter will be looked into. If the matter does not fall within the office’s mandate, the DPCI Judge’s office will refer the matter to the relevant institution and not only alert the complainant but send them a letter of proof of where the matter was referred to.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL