President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the establishment of commissions of inquiry as a necessary tool to uphold integrity and accountability in South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Delivering the Presidency Budget Vote for 2025/26 in Parliament on Wednesday, the President cautioned against premature calls for punitive action based on untested claims.
This as he addressed the recent uproar surrounding allegations made by the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
In an address to the nation last Sunday, President Ramaphosa placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on leave of absence with immediate effect.
The President outlined the scope of a judicial commission of inquiry that will focus on investigating “allegations relating to the infiltration of law enforcement, intelligence and associated institutions within the criminal justice system by criminal syndicates”.
READ | Mkhwanazi allegations: What the judicial commission of inquiry will probe
Among the allegations that the commission may investigate are the facilitation of organised crime; suppression or manipulation of investigations; inducement into criminal actions by law enforcement leadership; commission of any other criminal offences and intimidation, victimisation or targeted removal of whistleblowers or officials resisting criminal influence.
“These allegations are serious. They are also untested. It is therefore necessary that we establish the facts through an independent, credible and thorough process so that we can ensure accountability and safeguard public confidence in the police service,” the President said.
The President told Parliament that he recently established two commissions. The second commission of inquiry which he announced last Sunday, chaired by Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, follows another established in May, led by Judge Sisi Khampepe into apartheid-era crimes.
“It is therefore strange that some people have voiced strong opposition to the establishment of this commission of inquiry. Some have said that I should take immediate punitive steps against the Minister on the basis of untested allegations. Not only would this be unfair, but it would create a dangerous precedent. The commission should be allowed to do its work,” the President explained.
Rejecting the narrative that such commissions yield no real outcomes, the President highlighted key examples including the South African Revenue Service Commission, the Commission into the Public Investment Corporation, and the implementation of recommendations from the High-Level Panel on the State Security Agency and the Expert Panel into the July 2021 unrest.
“Some people have resurrected the tired line that the commissions and panels that we have established have not produced any meaningful results. This view is wrong. It is not borne out by evidence.
“These commissions resulted in disciplinary actions and the cancellation of unlawful contracts. The implementation of the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on the State Security Agency (SSA) have contributed significantly to SSA’s stabilisation and recovery, improved oversight and accountability, and the structural reforms contained in the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act,” he said.
Following the recommendations of the Expert Panel into the 2021 Civil Unrest, the President explained that government has taken steps to ensure better intelligence coordination, capacitating public order policing, strengthening community policing forums and streamlining the functioning of the National Security Council.
In the three years since the final report of the State Capture Commission was presented to the President, government has undertaken major reforms based on its recommendations.
The President noted that eight new laws have been enacted to strengthen the country’s anti-corruption institutions, enhance the procurement system, reform the intelligence services, and improve corporate accountability and public administration.
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He emphasised that government continues to act on the outcomes of the State Capture Commission, with more than R11 billion in assets recovered, an additional R10.6 billion frozen, and dozens of high-profile criminal cases enrolled.
“These commissions and panels show a government that takes responsibility, that is committed to transparency and accountability, that does not fear independent scrutiny, and that is determined to take corrective action where lapses have taken place.
“Each of these commissions and panels unearthed information and made findings that were critical to understanding the events that took place. They were essential in ensuring accountability and providing recommendations on strengthening our institutions and processes,” the President said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
