Pretoria – Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has requested the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Hawks to probe why state records were “in the hands of a private company that has the power to refuse the department access to such records”.
Digitisation service provider Veritas was said to be denying the Master of the High Court in Pretoria access to its records.
The Minister uncovered the anomaly on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, during her unannounced inspection at the Master of the High Court in Pretoria.
Her inspection was prompted by complaints about the lack of services at the Master of the High Court.
“While engaging management and departmental officials, the Minister was informed that services had been temporarily disrupted due to the unavailability of information from the Veritas system, which affects the processing of transactions and client enquiries,” the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said in a statement made available to The Bulrushes.
Veritas system, the off-site records storage and digitisation project, was initiated five years ago in response to increasing records volumes, limited internal storage capacity, inefficient records retrieval processes, and the need to improve records preservation and accessibility across courts and justice service points.
The project was implemented across various offices within the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, including High Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Labour Courts and Masters’ Offices.
However, during her inspection of the Masters’ offices, Minister Kubayi was told that the service provider was denying the Master of the High Court access to the records, resulting in service disruptions.
“Instead of making it more efficient and faster to render services, the digitisation project is now at the centre of service disruption and service delay,” the statement said.
“What is more concerning to the Minister is getting feedback that State records are in the hands of a private company that has the power to refuse the department access to such records.”
Minister Kubayi has referred the matter to the SIU and the Hawks for investigation.
Minister Kubayi warned that any evidence of criminality, corruption or deliberate actions that negatively affect public access to justice services would be pursued without fear or favour.
Law enforcement agencies have been tasked to look at, among other things, the following:
- The nature of the contract that gave a service provider unfettered access to records that must be in the hands of the department and the right for such a private company to have sole possession of such records.
- Any violations of government policies and legislation when implementing the digitisation project.
- Value for money of the contracts versus the service delivered.
- Whether any official of the department has been negligent, leading to the collapse of the delivery of critical services to the public.
“The disruption of services at an office that provides critical support to members of the public is a matter of grave concern,” said Minister Kubayi.
“I expect a thorough account of what transpired with the digitisation project.
“Any evidence of misconduct, negligence, corruption or deliberate actions that undermine service delivery and public confidence in the justice system will be dealt with decisively.
“Those responsible must be held accountable and face the full consequences of the law,” said Minister Kubayi.
She expressed her “sincere apology” to all those who have not been able to conclude their estates, receive payments from Mojapay and other related services from the office of the Master of the High Court.
The department said it was assessing the matter and implementing measures to restore normal service operations as quickly as possible. Further updates will be provided as necessary.
