Open data

The whole dataset — 18 parties, 17 documented cases, the scoring model and 0 monthly award records — free to download and reuse with attribution.

Where this data comes from

Sources:: Publicly reported court proceedings, National Prosecuting Authority statements, Zondo Commission findings, parliamentary ethics findings, Public Protector matters and mainstream South African news reporting.
First compiled:: September 2026, with AI assistance. Each case carries a named source.
Updated:: public tips, right-of-reply responses and a monthly editor check of every case — all reviewed and approved by a human editor before anything changes.
Coverage: In October 2026 every one of the 18 parliamentary parties was searched using the same criteria: current MPs, ministers, deputy ministers, premiers and national office-bearers (and former ones where the conduct happened while they represented the party); criminal charges, convictions, and findings or referrals by the NPA, SIU, Public Protector, commissions, and parliamentary or provincial ethics bodies, since 2019. Each result is checked by an editor against its sources before it is published. Parties with no published matters were searched with the same effort.

Read our editorial standards

Anyone named can give their side using the button on each case. Verified responses are published next to the case.

Data current as of 08 Oct 2026.

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Sourcing & methodology

Cases come from publicly reported court proceedings, the Zondo Commission's State Capture report, parliamentary ethics findings and Public Protector complaints. Each case carries its source label and the date it was last verified by an editor.
A party's score is the sum of its cases' status weights: convicted 4, currently charged 3, implicated by a commission or ethics body 2, accused or under investigation 1, resolved or cleared 0. The per-seat figure is score ÷ seats × 10.
The dataset is not exhaustive. Parties under heavier media or prosecutorial scrutiny may show more cases simply because more has been reported.

Suggested citation

S.C.A.M. (2026). Party corruption-related legal matters dataset, data as of 08 Oct 2026. Retrieved from https://www.scamsa.org

If you publish anything based on this data, please keep the presumption-of-innocence framing intact and link back to www.scamsa.org.

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Presumption of innocence: Charged and accused individuals are presumed innocent. This shows the status of public allegations and legal processes, not guilt. Data reflects publicly reported cases as of 08 Oct 2026 and is not exhaustive.