Frank Dutton one of the best investigators SA ever produced: Zondo

Chairperson of the State Capture Commission Raymond Zondo has described Frank Dutton as one of the best investigators the country has produced.

Dutton, the lead investigator for the Commission since its establishment in 2018 died on Thursday at the age of 72.

In a statement, the Deputy Chief Justice says South Africa and many other countries have benefitted from Dutton’s experience and skills, saying he will be sorely missed by his colleagues at the commission.

Dutton served as an investigator with the 1992 Goldstone Commission into political violence, as an investigator with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as well as in investigations in countries such as Bosnia, Croatia, Nigeria, Uganda, Liberia and Mozambique.

‘Humble man’

Former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza has also described the late Dutton as a humble man who was a pleasure to work with.

Ntsebeza says Dutton assisted in ensuring the charging of former Defence Minister Magnus Malan and other military officials for the 1987 waMakhutha massacre designed to foment violence between the African National Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

He says Dutton was also stellar in his investigations into human rights violations in Darfur, Sudan, when the two worked with the United Nations.

“Very humble, he is a good listener and he doesn’t take anything for granted in the sense that Darfur is a huge country. But when we met in Sudan in Khartoum he already was in a position to brief us in-depth about where they had found evidence of gross violations of human rights and he was prepared to lead us to those places but you would never think so because of the humbleness,” says Advocate Ntsebeza.

VIDEO: Reaction to death of lead investigator for state capture inquiry, Frank Dutton: Adv Ntsebeza