The Presidency has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa has received an interim report of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System.
Ramaphosa will review the interim report received on Wednesday, while the Commission, in recess, prepares to hear further testimony from new witnesses or from persons who have previously testified.
“President Ramaphosa has expressed his appreciation for the interim report as well as his expectation that the Commission will, as part of its terms of reference, refer actions thought to be criminal acts for prosecution,” said spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on Thursday.
On Monday, Magwenya said only the final report of the Madlanga Commission would be made public.
“The final report will be made available to the public. The commission will advise the president on areas that are of national security sensitivity and how those areas will need to be managed. The report is incomplete, and the president needs time to study it as he has not had the luxury of time to follow the proceedings of the commission every day,” Magwenya said.
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“Some of the witnesses that have come before the commission are going to be called back again to continue with their evidence. Some had evidence located in certain specific areas but not as broad as it was meant to be. So those witnesses are still going to be given a chance to return to the Commission and give that evidence.
“It will not be helpful for the witnesses, the commission itself, and all of us to start getting ourselves into knots over something that has not been completed. The president has undertaken to release the final report publicly when the commission has concluded its work.”
Madlanga commission
The commission was established by Ramaphosa following a media briefing in July, in which KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi levelled several allegations against police management and the judiciary.
Mkhwanazi said an investigation with the Gauteng organised crime investigation unit unmasked a syndicate which involves politicians, law enforcement, metro police, correctional services, prosecutors, the judiciary and is controlled by drug cartels as well as businesspeople.
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The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
The commission has heard testimony from suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola and Mkhwanazi.
In the final phase of the proceedings, Mkhwanazi will be recalled to respond to conflicting accounts and clarify details.
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