Project Justice represents the apex of the SSA's constitutional sabotage: an intelligence operation designed to infiltrate and compromise the judiciary — the last institutional barrier between the Zuma administration and complete impunity.
**The Operation**
Project Justice, also referred to as Operation Simunye, was established in the latter half of 2015 as an SSA covert operation. Its stated objective was to "influence, recruit and handle sources within the judiciary."
This meant: - **Recruiting** serving judicial officers as intelligence sources — attempting to turn judges into SSA assets - **Placing** operatives within the judicial system - **Gathering** intelligence on pending cases, particularly those involving President Zuma and his allies - **Influencing** judicial decision-making through intelligence operations
**Political Direction**
Minister David Mahlobo directed operations under Project Justice, according to Zondo Commission findings. The operation was run through the CDSO under Thulani Dlomo, alongside the other unlawful projects (Wave, Mayibuye, Academia).
Testimony to the Zondo Commission in January 2021 stated that President Zuma "pointed his renegade spooks at the judiciary" — a characterisation that places the operation's origins with the presidency itself.
**Why the Judiciary Was Targeted**
The timing is telling. By late 2015, the judiciary was becoming the primary institutional check on Zuma-era corruption: - The Constitutional Court had ordered Zuma to pay back Nkandla money (March 2016) - Courts were reviewing the decision to drop corruption charges against Zuma - Multiple state capture-related cases were working through the courts - Civil society organisations like CASAC were using the courts to challenge executive overreach
An intelligence operation to compromise judicial independence would, if successful, have eliminated the last meaningful check on executive power.
**Project Veza Confirmation**
The Project Veza investigators, identified as "Ms K" and "Mr Y" in Zondo Commission proceedings, confirmed Project Justice's existence and purpose during their January 2021 testimony. Their evidence formed part of the broader picture of CDSO operations that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions.
**The Constitutional Gravity**
Section 165 of the Constitution states: "The courts are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they must apply impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice." An intelligence operation aimed at recruiting judges as sources and influencing judicial decision-making is a direct attack on this constitutional guarantee.
Of all the SSA's unlawful operations — media bribery, civil society surveillance, political funding — Project Justice was the most dangerous to constitutional democracy. A captured judiciary would leave no institutional mechanism to enforce accountability.