President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Madlanga commission of inquiry, which is tasked with probing irregularities and corruption in SA’s criminal justice system, to conduct search and seizure operations when faced with suspected noncompliance.
Under the commission’s regulations, published on Tuesday, entities and individuals who obstruct the search and seizure operations face criminal liability.
Regulation 12 provides that anyone who “insults, disparages or belittles the chair or any member of the commission or prejudices the inquiry” commits an offence, punishable by a fine or up to six months’ imprisonment.
The same applies to those who contravene witness obligations, hinder officials during the exercise of search powers or breach confidentiality rules. In more serious cases, obstruction carries a penalty of up to 12 months in jail.
The commission will probe whether police minister Senzo Mchunu unlawfully disbanded the political killings task team, removed more than 120 case dockets and imposed a hiring freeze on SA Police Service (SAPS) crime intelligence.
It will also investigate whether Mchunu misled parliament about his relationship with Brown Mogotsi — one of the people implicated — and oversaw a potentially irregular R360m contract awarded to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s company.
The inquiry follows KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s explosive allegations earlier this month that a highly organised criminal network had compromised law enforcement, intelligence agencies and prosecutorial bodies across the country.
Funding for the inquiry will be determined by the National Treasury in consultation with the justice minister. It has six months to deliver its final report, with an interim report expected within three months of its launch.
The commission will be led by former deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, who will be assisted by advocates Sesi Baloyi and Sandile Khumalo. Terry Motau will be the chief evidence leader.
Entities to be investigated include the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority and the State Security Agency. The commission will focus on alleged infiltration by criminal syndicates of these entities.
“The minister [of justice] must, at the request of, and on such conditions as may be determined by the chair, second such officers from the public service as may be required to assist the commission in the execution of its mandate: provided that to the extent that an official identified for secondment to the commission is in the employ of a department or state entity under another minister, the minister shall consult with the minister concerned to facilitate such secondment in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994,” the regulations read.
Any person appearing before a commission may be assisted by a lawyer. At the same time, the chair has authority to compel testimony under oath and require witnesses to hand over documents, records or other material relevant to the inquiry, according to the regulations.
“The commission will work with an identified body to ensure that, where necessary and after relevant security risk assessments are done, witnesses or potential witnesses are provided with the required protection.”
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