Corruption Watch (CW) is disappointed that President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken so long to announce the establishment of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the allegations of criminal infiltration into law enforcement agencies in South Africa, as he finally did on Sunday 13 July 2025.
That this action comes only now, after the grave allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy Police Commissioner Major-General Shadrack Sibiya by Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the South African Police Service (Saps) provincial commissioner for KwaZulu-Natal, about Mchunu’s links to a sophisticated criminal syndicate, is troubling. As far back as 2019, CW and the Institute for Security Studies, in their joint submission to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (Zondo Commission), highlighted how organised crime had flourished during the years of state capture, and the extent to which criminal justice agencies were manipulated for political and personal gain.
Subsequently, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended in his final Zondo report in 2022 that evidence submitted to the commission about alleged corruption in law enforcement entities, which was too broad to be addressed by the commission, be used in ongoing investigations to pursue these allegations and prevent further eroding of these institutions.
Three years on, and the country has seen what happens when such critical crime-fighting institutions have been left to unravel, as a result of indecisive leadership and a failure to address internal tensions and allegations of corruption and criminality.
The seriousness of these revelations and allegations have placed the security cluster under scrutiny and suggest that the effective operations of key law enforcement agencies such as the Saps and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate have been severely hampered.
While CW acknowledges and supports the role of such a commission, it is imperative that Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga picks up from where the Zondo Commission left off. It is also vital that investigators appointed by the commission are immediately empowered to investigate and that bodies like the National Prosecuting Authority are sufficiently capacitated and agile to take these criminal investigations forward. It is hoped that the process of this commission will not be hindered or derailed by delays or interference, and that there is decisive action to hold those found guilty to account.
The seriousness of these allegations and their devastating impact on safety and security in the country require that they be pursued with urgency, and that all evidence is robustly scrutinised and proven beyond reasonable doubt.
There are several key elements that CW advocates for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry:
- Clearly defined timelines with no extensions, and prudent use of resources.
- The meaningful protection of whistle-blowers appearing at the commission.
- Public participation and transparency in the form of hearings that are broadcast.
- Accommodation of civil society organisations (CSOs) that work in this space, for the purposes of submissions to the commission.
- Urgent prioritisation of all matters associated with the inquiry.
The organisation also insists that the periodic release of three- and six-month reports respectively, as proposed by the president, are not delayed and that the commission has the power to refer matters for immediate criminal investigation and urgent decisions in terms of prosecution. It will also serve to restore public trust if those found guilty are prosecuted.
CW calls on all CSOs involved in monitoring the criminal justice sector to collectively work together to propose interventions and/or submissions in the spirit of solidarity and to ensure that civil society voices are heard.
The appointment of Professor Firoz Cachalia to acting Minister of Police is welcomed, given his former position on the CW board and his track record in the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, during which he has focused on the integrity of key institutions supporting our constitutional democracy – not least the security cluster and criminal justice agencies.
For media enquiries contact:
Oteng Makgotlwe
Cell: 076 473 8336 E-mail: OtengM@corruptionwatch.org.za
