Institute for Security Studies Archives

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SA police serve the ANC insiders, not the people: here’s how it happened

30 Jul 2025, 12:33

Image: Wikimedia Commons By Ivor ChipkinFirst published on The Conversation: Africa After South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, there was significant optimism about police reform in the country. Impressive steps were taken to bring the South African Police Service under civilian control and to create a service responsive to calls for assistance from the Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Madlanga commission terms of reference gazetted

28 Jul 2025, 12:27

President Cyril Ramaphosa has gazetted the upcoming Madlanga inquiry into law enforcement corruption. The gazette also includes the terms of reference which lay out the scope of the inquiry, and other regulations which guide its work. Ramaphosa established the “Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the Criminal Justice System arising Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Improving SA’s anti-corruption framework in the long and short term

05 Nov 2024, 12:18

To successfully tackle a problem and implement meaningful policy reform, there must be a clear understanding not only of the problem itself, but of the context in which that problem exists. For South Africa’s corruption problem, such understanding of the context is inadequate and little empirical information is available in this regard, and as a Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

A single anti-corruption agency is a high-risk option for SA

16 Sep 2024, 11:17

By Colette AshtonFirst published on Institute for Security Studies Corruption and state capture over the past decade in South Africa were enabled by an attack on the independence and capacity of its criminal justice agencies. As the country struggles to bring the perpetrators to book and prevent further damage, the question is: are South African Read more >

OPINIONS

We need a transparent and accountable law enforcement system

07 Oct 2020, 11:00

By Valencia TalaneFirst published on News24 The events of last week, in particular Wednesday 30 September’s high-profile arrests relating to the irregular Free State asbestos contract of 2014, indicate a step in the right direction in the fight against corruption. The Zondo commission has explored the contract extensively over the past few weeks, and some Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Poor policies, complicit police deepen SA’s drug problem

10 Aug 2020, 8:30

By Thato Mahlangu Part one of our mini-series on the UN’s World Drug Report 2020 looked at some of the report’s key findings. In the second and final part, we cover the situation in South Africa at the moment. The situation is serious, and it’s not getting better. According to anti-crime organisation Enact, the local Read more >

CORRUPTION NEWS

Inaction and weak policies boost the illicit drug market

07 Aug 2020, 13:00

By Thato Mahlangu Drug markets have been reported to be increasing, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This grim but unsurprising information is one of the findings of the UN’s World Drug Report which was released on 25 June 2020. The report reveals how some governments are failing to clamp down on the illicit trade of Read more >

OPINIONS

Appoint anti-crime and -corruption leaders with great care

03 Jul 2020, 10:22

Corruption Watch has made a submission to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, known as the Zondo commission. Our submission focused on the appointment of leadership positions to key corruption and crime fighting institutions, such as the Auditor-General and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate. In the opinion piece below, project coordinator Read more >

PRESS RELEASES

Corruption Watch lobbies for public influence in key leadership appointments

27 Sep 2019, 12:46

Corruption Watch has today launched an awareness campaign to highlight the need for greater transparency, merit-based criteria and public participation in the appointment of key leadership positions, most notably in the anti-corruption institutions that constitute the pillars of our democracy. During 2019 and 2020, three of these institutions will require new leaders, namely the executive Read more >