Major General Johan Booysen withdraws as witness from Nkabinde Commission

The number of witnesses at the Nkabinde Commission continues to dwindle after retired Major General Johan Booysen withdrew from participating.

The inquiry was established to assess the fitness of South Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head Andrew Chauke to hold office amid allegations related to prosecutorial oversight.

With a shrinking witness list and adjustments to how testimony is presented, the commission’s process is becoming increasingly constrained.

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In 2025, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi, at the time, shocked proceedings by walking out and refusing to continue her testimony.

This left only one other witness to take the stand, Western Cape Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Shareen Riley.

Her appearance was followed by that of Chauke himself, despite the commission not having completed hearing evidence from other witnesses.

Just last week, Booysen reversed his decision to testify - first indicating he would submit a written statement only, before withdrawing from the process entirely.

The commission’s spokesperson, Tiyisela Mpuzana, said, “The initial agreement was that Booysen would submit his statement to the inquiry as well as testify in person.

“However, through his lawyers, last week he indicated that he would not testify but only submit his statement. Then, the latest this week was that he will no longer participate at all in the inquiry.”

It remains unclear how the commission will proceed following these developments.