SAPS Sends Sibiya Associate James Scharnick’s Controversial Plea Deal to NPA for Review

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu‑Natal has referred a contentious plea agreement involving Durban businessman James Stuart Scharnick to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for full review.

The move follows a police audit that uncovered alleged irregularities in Scharnick’s criminal record, including manipulation by a SAPS employee at the National Criminal Records Centre.

According to Acting Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection, Maj‑Gen Anthony Gopaul, the audit revealed 29 criminal cases involving Scharnick, rather than the single case he had previously claimed.

Eighteen of these involved serious vehicle crimes, including 10 counts of motor‑vehicle theft and 8 cases of carjacking. These were consolidated in court under a single plea agreement, resulting in a five‑year wholly suspended sentence and a R150 000 fine. The remaining 11 cases, which included assault, theft, and firearms offences, were withdrawn or resulted in not-guilty findings.

SAPS discovered that on 16 January 2025, a staff member accessed and altered Scharnick’s record, raising questions about the integrity of the criminal records system.

Gopaul noted that while deletions may not show on the front end, backend transactions remain traceable. Questions have also arisen over how Scharnick legally obtained five firearm licences in 2023, despite initial refusals for failing to disclose convictions.

The police are investigating whether these licences were correctly issued and how a magistrate accepted the plea deal without full disclosure of the case history.

The plea deal has also triggered scrutiny over the legality of record expungement. SAPS confirmed that Scharnick’s R150 000 fine far exceeds the R20 000 threshold for automatic expungement, meaning his criminal record should not have been cleared.

In response, KwaZulu‑Natal police are preparing two separate dossiers, one for the NPA to review whether the prosecutor had proper authority to approve the plea, and another for the Judicial Service Commission to determine if the magistrate was provided with all relevant information.

Meanwhile, Scharnick has filed a defamation case against Crime Intelligence head General Dumisani Khumalo, who had previously claimed he had a significant criminal history.

As the NPA reviews the case and SAPS continues its investigations, the matter highlights potential gaps in prosecutorial oversight, record-keeping integrity, and the firearm licensing process, raising serious questions about accountability and transparency in the criminal justice system.