Johannesburg Master’s Office: allegations of corruption and incompetence

• Lawyers say delays at the Johannesburg Master’s Office in critical legal processes can have serious consequences, including financial losses for citizens who depend on its services.
• The office has glitch-prone digital platforms, backlogs and no emergency backup power.
• A “runner” system has emerged in which clients pay intermediaries for faster service, with one attorney saying, “there is this perception that if you don’t pay the cool drink money, your things are not going to get done”.
• The Department of Justice however says the Johannesburg office is meeting its key performance targets.

The Johannesburg Master’s Office is grappling with backlogs, delays, inefficiencies and perceptions of corruption, according to sources close to the institution. But the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ) says it is addressing these issues.

Unreasonably long delays at the Master’s Office have life-changing repercussions for people. Delays in appointing an executor to oversee a deceased estate, lodge or amend a trust deed, or finalise an insolvency, leave people’s lives in limbo.

Several lawyers told GroundUp that the Master’s failure to issue a letter of executorship, for instance, can result in financial losses for the beneficiaries. Failure to issue an insurance bond or executor bond, which protects beneficiaries from potential negligence, fraud or mismanagement of estate assets by the appointed executor, can also cause devastating financial loss.

Sources who deal with Johannesburg Master’s Office said it can take weeks, one said months, to obtain a letter of executorship from the office.

Delays in appointing insolvency practitioners can harm distressed businesses, creditors, workers and local communities.

One lawyer told GroundUp that the Master’s failures prevent them from serving their clients efficiently and it harms their reputation as a legal firm.

“The Master’s inefficiency prejudices legal practitioners [in the eyes of their clients],” the source said.

Delays

In early January 2026, Johannesburg law firm Pagel Schulenburg Attorneys posted on its website a note stating that current backlogs at the larger Masters’ offices (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town) were in the area of deceased estates.

DOJ director of media research and liaison Samuel Modipane, replying to GroundUp, said the Johannesburg office is the country’s highest-volume jurisdiction and it is meeting its key performance targets, including the majority issuance of Letters of Executorship within the prescribed 15 working days for compliant applications.

Corruption

Most of our sources agreed to share their views only if granted anonymity, as they feared victimisation.

There is a perception of corruption among many people who interact with the Master’s Office and who spoke to GroundUp.

Notices posted at the offices, stating that services are free and that no one may charge a member of the public to assist with services, appear to seek to address this perception.

But GroundUp is aware that ongoing backlogs at the Master’s Office have fostered a well-known “runner” system, in which clients pay intermediaries for faster service.

Runner services appear to be a significant cash cow for those involved. They also have key connections within the Master’s Office staff to help deliver these services, so GroundUp was told.

GroundUp found runner services offering assistance at the Johannesburg Master’s Office through online ads, websites and social media groups.

An attorney said of the Johannesburg Master’s Office that “there is this perception that if you don’t pay the cooldrink money, your things are not going to get done”.

In response, the DOJ said it maintains a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.

“Where wrongdoing is identified, decisive disciplinary action is taken,” the department said.

Lack of capacity

The Johannesburg Master’s Office, one of the biggest in the country, has 129 staff members, according to the department.

Although some Master’s Office processes are digitalised, officials still rely heavily on paper. Sources claimed there is poor document management. One person told us that in one case, a vital document was lost.

The same attorney said, “You find a lot of files. They just put one file on top of another. There is poor filing of documents.”

They told GroundUp “files are all over the place”, piling up even in the corridors.

The DOJ said that while the reporting and registration for estates and trusts are fully digitalised, the continued use of original appointment letters is largely driven by the current requirements of financial institutions and other third parties.

“In the interim, hybrid processes are continuously refined to ensure uninterrupted service delivery while the transition to a fully modernised environment progresses,” the department added.

Several attorneys said frequent internet and computer system downtime worsens problems at the already stretched office.

Katherine Gascoigne, Johannesburg Attorneys’ Association (JAA) head of the Master’s Office portfolio, said, “The JAA has a good relationship with the Johannesburg Master, and that is why we are able to resolve problems. However, there are problems that we cannot resolve, like infrastructure, human resources, network issues, as well as understaffing.”

She noted that the Master’s Office has a significant impact on the South African economy, which is why it deserves more resources and staff to operate optimally.

Another source accused the government of showing minimal interest in addressing the challenges at the office.

“You need proper leadership. There is no regard for the whole division of the Master’s branch,” the source said.

The Master’s Office, located on Marshall Street in central Johannesburg, has no emergency backup power. When a substation exploded last year, it left the Master’s Office without power, according to Eyewitness News, and forced an extended closure of the office.

The DOJ told GroundUp that the landlord has installed a generator, but it is not operational.

Several other Master’s Offices also lack backup power.

Digital platforms

The Master has set up online platforms for managing trusts and deceased estates. The deceased estate platform was launched in October 2023, and the trust platform was launched in April 2025.

Yet, attorneys we spoke to describe these online portals as glitch-prone and frequently down, prompting some to continue submitting paper forms.

Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright stated online: “It is a welcome step forward in modernising an institution long plagued by inefficiency.”

But the firm reported in August last year on its Financial Institutions Legal Snapshot website, that early user feedback on the trust platform complained about system glitches, upload issues and downtime during peak periods.

“Without robust IT support and infrastructure, these teething problems could become serious impediments,” the law firm wrote.

Norton Rose Fulbright noted significant potential to improve trust administration if the Master effectively implemented and supported its trust platform.

A source told GroundUp that the Master’s deceased estate online system is regularly offline, partly because it relies on Home Affairs’ data.

In response, the DOJ said the integration with the Department of Home Affairs for death verification remains a necessary legal safeguard.

“Active inter-departmental collaboration is underway to improve system stability and uptime,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ said digital reporting for deceased estates and trusts had significantly reduced the need for physical visits.

It said work is underway to modernise, improve connectivity, enhance cybersecurity and strengthen data quality.

“The current reforms … are already yielding tangible improvements in access, turnaround times and accountability,” the DOJ added.

In addition, the DOJ said a study of all Master’s Offices is underway to ensure proper resourcing.

It said there are measurable performance indicators and these are subject to regular reporting to Parliament through the Budgetary Review and Recommendation process.

Calls unanswered

Sources said an unresponsive switchboard at the Johannesburg Master’s Office has been a long-standing issue.

GroundUp repeatedly called the official switchboard lines, but none of our calls were answered. When the calls reached voicemail, there was no option to leave a message.

By contrast, when GroundUp phoned the smaller Master’s Office in Bloemfontein, the call was answered promptly.

The DOJ noted that a full directory with direct contact numbers for managers and key officials is published on its website.

Another complaint is that it is hard to reach the Master’s Office officials directly by telephone.

“People in their offices are likely to be busy with people in front of them, and they will simply let the phone ring,” a source said.

The DOJ said it was finalising a national complaints management framework to resolve concerns raised by the public quickly and effectively.

Unnecessary costs

Inefficiencies force people to return repeatedly to the Master’s Office, increasing costs and delaying legal matters, a source said.

A general complaint GroundUp heard about Master’s offices is that lawyers have had to file mandamus applications to compel the Master to decide matters due to the Master’s inaction.

A legal expert, who wished to remain anonymous, said it is hard to determine how many of these mandamus applications there have been.

Another general complaint about the Master’s Office is that each branch tends to have its own way of doing things. “There should be uniformity,” an industry source said.

In response, the DOJ said it was finalising uniform masters’ standard operating procedures to ensure consistent processes across the country, while still allowing Masters to exercise the discretion provided for in legislation.

“All offices operate under binding Chief Master’s directives and the same statutory framework,” the department said.

Outdated laws

Several attorneys said that laws governing some functions of the Master’s Office are outdated, making compliance difficult. For example, the Administration of Estates Act, which governs deceased estates, dates back to 1965, while the Insolvency Act, which governs insolvency matters, is about 90 years old, enacted in 1936.

Antiquated elements of the Insolvency Act include requirements for the use of post and cheques.

Not all bad

GroundUp occasionally heard positive reports. One source said they encountered no issues and were impressed with the service.

Another noted significant improvement since the covid pandemic, saying that although substantial backlogs had persisted in its aftermath, the current leadership at the Johannesburg Master played a key role in the office’s recovery.

Some sources reported positive experiences with the Master’s online portals and have welcomed digitalisation.

The DOJ also said major system reforms are in development or implementation.

This article was originally published by GroundUp. It is republished by TechFinancials under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence. Read the original article