Twelve months ago today, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi stood before the nation to address a televised press conference at which he made serious allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
The optics of the unprecedented briefing were not good, with Mkhwanazi dressed in camouflage and surrounded by officers in combat gear and their faces covered. It had all the hallmarks of the addresses we’ve often seen by paramilitary juntas in some African states after a coup d’état, except that in this case there had been no coup d’état.
A year later, however, the work of the Madlanga commission, which was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate Mkhwanazi’s explosive allegations of criminality in the police and criminal justice systems, has had far-reaching implications even before it has completed its work.
The police minister, Senzo Mchunu, whom Mkhwanazi alleged was working with criminal cartels, is on suspension.
The commission has also claimed major scalps along the way, and perhaps the most significant to date is that of Brig Rachel Matjeng, a criminal record and crime scene management section head in the South African Police Service.
Matjeng was found guilty of multiple counts of serious misconduct related to her relationship with alleged criminal cartel member Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, who was a key figure named in Mkhwanazi’s press conference.
Matjeng’s firing followed her appearance at the Madlanga commission and the subsequent proposed plea deal between the state and Matlala related to fraud and corruption in his company’s R300m medical tender with the SAPS.
Multiple senior police officers have also been charged and are before the courts in part because of revelations from the Madlanga inquiry. The commission has also unearthed deep-seated corruption at the municipal level, with various senior officials who have been implicated in wrongdoing either facing charges or suspended for their alleged misconduct.
If anything, Mkhwanazi’s allegations have helped expose to the nation the intricacies of how criminal networks operate through those trusted with our safety and security.
While the Madlanga commission is yet to finish its work and those who sit at the top of the alleged cartel involved in drug trafficking are still to be revealed, the nation can look to the next months with optimism.
If the events of the past year are anything to go by, then Mkhwanazi’s July 6 briefing altered the course of this country’s history for good reasons.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.