Investigation into alleged capture of South Africa’s police and justice system gets green light

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed off on the regulations to guide the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into the allegedly captured police and justice system, which is set to begin on 1 September.

Ramaphosa established the Commission following KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanzi’s allegations that a criminal syndicate had captured the country’s law enforcement and intelligence structures.

Mkhwanazi’s allegations also implicated former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in interfering with sensitive police investigations and colluding with businesspeople to disband the Political Killings Task Team.

Mchunu has since been placed on gardening leave, pending the outcome of the Commission’s investigation.

The President appointed former Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga as the Chairperson of the Commission.

Madlanga then announced Dr Peter Goss as the Commission’s chief investigator and Terry Motau, Senior Counsel, as the chief evidence leader.

The regulations signed off by Ramaphosa detail the Commission’s structure, powers, and operational procedures.

It includes rules for evidence taking, search and seizure provisions, and offences and penalties for hindering the Commission’s work.

The regulations also say that any statement produced by a witness will not be admissible as evidence against that person in subsequent criminal proceedings.

It adds that any person who prejudices the Commission’s inquiry, proceedings, or findings will be liable to a fine or a maximum of six months’ imprisonment.

The Commission’s Spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, announced on Wednesday that the proceedings would commence at the beginning of September.

Michaels added that the Commission’s offices would be located at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College in central Pretoria and would be available free of charge.

“The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which is assisting with procuring the Commission’s requirements, is hard at work to ensure that hearings will commence as scheduled,” he said.

“Likewise, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is attending to alterations that will make the venue fit for purpose.”

Parliament’s investigation off to a slow start

Parliament also announced that it would be conducting its own investigation into General Mkhwanazi’s allegations. However, the committee responsible for this has gotten off to a rocky start.

The team, chaired by the African National Congress’s Soviet Lekganyane, has taken two meetings, the most recent of which lasted nine hours, to finalise the terms of reference to guide its investigation.

In a statement following its most recent meeting on Monday, Lekganyane said that the document’s final version, with the agreed-upon amendments, will be sent to members by Thursday.

He said this will allow the committee members to review the document before it is formally adopted.

However, time is running out for the committee, which is required to report its findings back to Parliament by the end of October, which gives it just over two months.

After Monday’s meeting, the members agreed that General Mkhwanazi would be the first person to appear before the committee.

They also concluded that the committee will not rely on Parliament’s legal counsel, as advocated for by the ANC, but that it will procure external support.

These were but a few of the many contentious issues within the terms of reference debated by the committee, which saw it stall on the document for so long.

Another point of contention was whether the committee was empowered to deal with classified information if it was presented with it.

ANC MP and chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli asked how the committee would handle classified information if members were not adequately vetted.

“How do we interact with the classified information when we, ourselves, are not members of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence?” he said.

“Therefore, we have not gone through the process required by law before you can interact with the classified information.”

Several members of the committee also fiercely opposed the ANC’s proposal that Lekganyane have complete control over how witnesses are questioned.

Madlanga Commission Regulations