Ramaphosa says firing Mchunu based on untested allegations would be unfair, 'create a dangerous precedent'
He came to the defence of Mchunu in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, as well as his decision to order a commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption within the police and interference by Mchunu.
Delivering his budget vote address in the House, Ramaphosa said it was untrue that commissions of inquiry did not result in tangible actions.
ALSO READ: Ramaphosa says National Dialogue not 'just about talking', expects it to 'produce real results'
President Ramaphosa has given the directive for two commissions of inquiry in recent weeks - one into the alleged interference in the prosecution of truth and reconciliation cases, and the other into alleged collusion and infiltration within the SAPS.
Responding to criticism to launch an inquiry to investigate claims made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Ramaphosa said that while the allegations were serious, they were untested.
"It is therefore necessary that we establish the facts through an independent, credible process so that we can ensure accountability and safeguard public confidence in the police service."
Ramaphosa also responded to calls for Mchunu to be fired based on Mkhwanazi's allegations and misleading Parliament.
"Not only would this be unfair, but it would create a dangerous precedent."
He said the view that commissions of inquiry did not produce meaningful results was wrong and not borne out by evidence.
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IOL News
14 minutes ago
- IOL News
Trust in the judiciary: South Africa's crisis of confidence
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga to chair the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system. Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution is politically meaningless, says the writer. Image: Independent Media Archives Prof. Sipho Seepe South Africans live in hope. For seven nerve-wracking days, they waited patiently for President Cyril Ramaphosa to address them on one of the most pressing crises the country has faced since 1994. A week earlier, Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had placed the entire criminal justice system on trial. Mkhwanazi implicated the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, top brass, correctional services, senior politicians, and members of the judiciary in an intricate web of crime syndicates and drug cartels. The allegations put the country on the knife-edge. This is the stuff that collapses governments. When Ramaphosa finally faced the nation, the address was characteristically and predictably underwhelming. All opposition parties took potshots at Ramaphosa. Those who were disappointed in Ramaphosa's utterances have themselves to blame. First, Ramaphosa is not a man of courage. He has no backbone. Placed in a prickly situation, his instinct is to choose ANC's interests over those of the country. Second, Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the constitution is politically meaningless. Third, Ramaphosa does not come with clean hands. The Phala Phala farmgate scandal must have weighed heavily on his mind. The independent parliamentary panel, comprising luminaries in law, found Ramaphosa to be possibly guilty of serious misconduct of violating section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office. Ramaphosa was also found to have violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business. The panel concluded that. 'Viewed as a whole, the information presented to the Panel, prima facie, establishes that (1) There was a deliberate intention not to investigate the commission of the crimes committed at Phala Phala openly.' The damning findings by the former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo-led panel have not triggered the usual knee-jerk reaction that we have come to expect from the self-appointed custodians of constitutionalism. If anything, they have been conspicuously silent and absent. Confronted by the ever-lingering prospect of possible impeachment of Ramaphosa over the farmgate scandal, the ANC did what it does best. It closed ranks and squashed parliament's attempt to establish a Multi-Party Committee to investigate its leader. An annoyed Thabo Mbeki wrote. 'Are we [the ANC] saying that we suspect or know that he (Ramaphosa) has done something impeachable and therefore decided that we must protect our president at all costs by ensuring that no Multi-Party Committee is formed?...... We acted as we did [as if] there was something to hide'. There is no way that Ramaphosa was going to throw Mchunu, one of his supporters, under the bus without facing serious political repercussions. The establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry was the only safe route open to Ramaphosa. It enables Ramaphosa to postpone addressing a tricky political question of dispensing with Mchunu's services. Be that as it may, the inquiry should not prevent the police from conducting criminal investigations against those implicated in the alleged commission of crimes. Neither does the commission absolve parliament of its oversight responsibility. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ With a president burdened by allegations of possible criminality, it would be foolhardy to expect that the recommendations of the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be taken seriously. That the country can be held in suspense by a President who has proved to be a constitutional delinquent reflects the pervasive sense of lack of accountability, paralysis, and resignation that grips the nation. South Africans deserve Ramaphosa. No self-respecting country would allow this. South Africans have expressed a sense of inquiry-fatigue. They have witnessed far too many commissions without any of them leading to discernible positive effects. Some commissions were demonstrably weaponised to target certain individuals disliked by the establishment. Ordinarily, had it not been for the fact that Mkhwanazi implicated judges in the commission of corrupt activities, the establishment of a judicial commission would be unquestionable. Matters become complex if one considers the fact that the very judiciary had decided that South Africans cannot be entrusted with information relating to who funded President Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential candidacy. Mkhwanazi's allegations lend credence to the speculations that the reason the CR17 files are sealed is that they may implicate some members of the judiciary or their family members. Ramaphosa is lucky. Each time he asks the courts to seal matters that relate to him, the courts oblige. This raises several questions. What happened to transparency being the lifeblood of democracy? If Ramaphosa is innocent as he pretends, why rush to the courts for cover? Who are the funders and beneficiaries of the CR17 funds? The tendency to obfuscate issues whenever Ramaphosa is involved played itself out at the Constitutional Court. Instead of zeroing in on the bigger picture, the country's esteemed jurists inordinately debated whether the parliamentary panel had established a prima facie or sufficient evidence. Their colleague, Justice Owen Rogers, would have none of it. He contended. 'A person loses 8.7 million Rand, they would want to know who the investigating officer is, and has it been reported to the police. Is there a case pending? It is a common cause that there wasn't… There was a deliberate decision because the president wanted to keep secret the source of the money; that's the background to where the panel was coming from.' This invariably raises the perennial question: Who judges the judges? The former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng answered that question when he contended that 'one of the things we needed to do as judges is to give reasons for our decisions that an ordinary man can understand. You must be worried when you read a judgment, and you are struggling to make sense of it.... We ought to know that partly, we account to the public through our judgments. Now, if you write in such a way that the public can't even understand what you are doing, what kind of accountability is that? We don't write for lawyers. We don't account to lawyers only; we account to every South African citizen.' The question becomes pertinent given society's growing mistrust of the judiciary. According to the 2018 Afrobarometer survey, 32% of South Africans suspect that judges are involved in corruption. In 2002, the level of mistrust was 15%. Responding to the 2021 Afrobarometer report on the society's loss of confidence in the judiciary, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya argued that 'the judiciary itself needs to do an introspection and check if we are to blame for this change of attitude towards the institution.' The chair of a commission of inquiry must be beyond reproach for the commission to enjoy legitimacy and credibility. For now, we can only speculate. And the picture is not rosy. * Professor Sipho P. Seepe is an Higher Education & Strategy Consultant. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
Public trust in SAPS falls to lowest levels in 27 years, survey shows
Public trust in SAPS falls to lowest levels in 27 years, survey shows The allegations levelled against senior national police executives by KZN provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have caused the SAPS' public trust to dip. Zululand Observer reports that research released last Friday by the Human Sciences Research Council's South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) shows trust levels have remained relatively low – and not once in 27 years have more than half the adult public trusted the police. This suggests the issue of police legitimacy is by no means new. From 1998 to 2010, the average level of trust in the police was relatively static, ranging between 39% and 42%. This was followed by a sharp decline between 2011 and 2013, after the Marikana massacre in August 2012. Confidence had almost returned to the 2011 level by the 2015 survey. The 2016–2020 period was characterised by modest fluctuations between 31% and 35%. The hard lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, which included instances of police brutality in enforcing lockdown regulations, appears to have further dented confidence, based on the 2020 survey results. In 2021, public trust in the police dipped to an all-time low of 27%, reportedly linked to the July 2021 social unrest in KZN when many criticised SAPS' poor performance. This was followed by a further 5% drop to 22% in 2022, with 2023 and 2024–25 confidence levels almost unchanged, possibly reflecting rising rates for certain crimes. The 2022, 2023 and 2024–25 figures are the lowest recorded in 27 years. The full report and figures can be accessed here. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
14 hours ago
- IOL News
Over a million apply to join SAPS: Women lead surge in 2025 police recruitment drive
SAPS attracts record number of applicants for Basic Police Development Learning Programme Image: SAPS The South African Police Service (SAPS) has reported a groundbreaking influx of applications for its Basic Police Development Learning Programme (BPDLP) for the 2025/2026 cycle, with a staggering 1,049,998 individuals applying before the midnight deadline on 18 July 2025. This remarkable statistic underscores the growing interest in joining the police force, particularly among young South Africans aspiring to serve their communities. The gender breakdown of the applications reveals an encouraging trend towards inclusivity, with 595,049 applications submitted by female candidates, compared to 454,949 from male candidates. This positive shift indicates an increasing recognition of the importance of diverse representation within law enforcement roles. Geographically, Gauteng emerged as the province yielding the highest number of applications, with 267,031 hopefuls eager to join the ranks of the SAPS. KwaZulu-Natal followed closely with 205,802 applications. The interest is distributed variably across other provinces, with Limpopo at 115,877, Eastern Cape at 108,709, and Mpumalanga at 100,516. The Western Cape also secured significant interest, drawing in 86,496 applications, while the Free State accounted for 73,214. North West submitted 66,167, and the Northern Cape brought up the rear with a modest 26,186 applicants. In a noteworthy indication of academic preparedness among applicants, 334,765 individuals possess qualifications at a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 6 (Diploma) or higher, which suggests a highly educated pool of candidates ready to tackle the challenges of policing. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading As the application phase officially closes, the SAPS has informed applicants that they will no longer accept submissions through their website. Candidates whose profiles meet the specified requirements can anticipate being contacted within three months regarding the next steps of their application process. However, the police service has indicated that, due to the overwhelming number of applications received, those who do not meet the necessary criteria will not be notified. This massive response to the BPDLP serves as a clear testament to the dedication and commitment of South African youth to uphold justice and contribute positively to society. As the SAPS prepares to review the applications, all eyes will be on the next generation of police officers who will soon emerge, driven by their passion to protect and serve. IOL
