Latest news with #NugentCommission
The Citizen
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Revisiting the outcomes of government's previous commissions of inquiry
President Cyril Ramaphosa launched another commission of inquiry on Sunday, but how impactful have the previous inquiries been? President Cyril Ramaphosa's expected announcement of a commission of inquiry into policing matters is giving citizens a case of déjà vu. KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi rocked the security cluster last Sunday with accusations of interference and criminal culpability against high-profile individuals. Forced to act, the president's announcement on Sunday evening was ridiculed by rival political parties and civil society groups demanding swift action. A decade of commissions Ramaphosa has successfully relied on commissions of inquiry to settle complex disputes, while former president Jacob Zuma had a less impressive record with the commission he chose to implement. Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga will chair this commission into Mkhwanazi's revelations, and this will be the second in 2025, following Ramaphosa's May announcement of an inquiry into the delay in investigating Truth and Reconciliation Commission matters. Nugent Commission into SARS Possibly the most impactful, the Nugent Commission into the South Africa Revenue Service (Sars) was launched in May 2018. Chaired by retired Judge Robert Nugent, it investigated governance and operational failures under then-South African Revenue Service (Sars) Commissioner Tom Moyane. Moyane was suspended in March 2018 and subsequently fired, with his lengthy court appeal ending in failure. The Nugent Commission led to the appointment of Edward Kieswetter, who has been credited with successfully reforming Sars. Zondo Commission into State Capture The largest judicial inquiry undertaken took four years and implicated more than 1 400 people based on the testimonies of roughly 300 witnesses. Handed to President Ramaphosa in June 2022, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's State Capture report had, as of January, resulted in the arrest of 38 natural and juristic persons. ALSO READ: Kubayi: NPA capacity up as state capture cases progress However, the biggest names implicated in the State Capture report remain unprosecuted, including the former president and current ministers. 'Since [Ramaphosa's] first speech as ANC leader, we have failed to see any material action being taken against those within the ANC who were involved in corruption,' stated the Democratic Alliance. Mpati Commission into PIC In October 2018, Ramaphosa launched a commission inquiry into the management of the Public Investment Corporation. Held over 63 days, 77 witnesses gave oral submissions to the commission chaired by Justice Lex Mpati. Dr Dan Matjila resigned from his PIC CEO post before the commission concluded, but he and others connected to the companies implicated in wrongdoing have not been prosecuted. 'Matjila's requests to provide financial assistance or make contributions to individuals, organisations and political parties reflect his abuse of office and the ability to exert undue influence over investee companies,' concluded the report. Marikana Ramaphosa's predecessor launched the Marikana Commission of Inquiry in August 2022, but the future president was linked to the massacre for another decade via a class action lawsuit. Ramaphosa was a shareholder and non-executive director of Lonmin Platinum when 34 protesting miners were killed by police. The commission cleared Ramaphosa despite leaked emails where he asked law enforcement to take 'concomitant action', as reported by Al Jazeera. Former North West Deputy police commissioner William Mpembe and five others were charged for their involvement in the massacre, but all six were acquitted in September 2024. Seriti and Life Esidimeni Two other less-flattering inquiries from the Jacob Zuma era were the Seriti Commission into the military spending and the inquiry into the Life Esidimeni tragedy. After R140 million in expenditure, the findings of the Seriti Commission were set aside after it was determined that 'questions posed to the witnesses were hardly the questions of an evidence leader seeking to determine the truth'. Meanwhile, Section 27 is still fighting for the families of the 144 Life Esidimeni psychiatric patients who died while under the care of the Gauteng Department of Health. Section27 asked the National Prosecuting Authority to prioritise the prosecution of provincial health officials Qedani Mahlangu and Makgabo Manamela as recommended by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke. 'We hope to bring back into the spotlight the plight of the families whose loved ones died gruesome deaths at the hands of the state,' wrote Section27. NOW READ: Cameron questions urgency of commission into Mchunu probe
IOL News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Justice or diversion? Saftu challenges Ramaphosa's inquiry into TRC prosecutions
Justice buried under commissions is justice betrayed says SAFTU's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, condemning President Ramaphosa's new TRC inquiry as another diversion from real action and long-overdue accountability. Image: File The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to establish a new commission of inquiry to investigate why the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) were never implemented. Saftu views this move as a wasteful and cynical attempt to avoid accountability, branding it 'a bizarre and shameful spectacle of the state appointing a commission to investigate itself for its failure to act on the findings of a previous commission.' The announcement comes as Ramaphosa moves to establish a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate whether government officials obstructed the investigation or prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. These cases, referred by the TRC to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), have been a longstanding source of frustration for victims and their families. Earlier this year, survivors and relatives of apartheid victims, with the backing of the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR), initiated legal proceedings in the Gauteng High Court. They accused senior state officials, including President Ramaphosa, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, National Prosecuting Authority head Shamila Batohi, and SAPS Commissioner Fannie Masemola, of unlawfully delaying and obstructing justice. The Presidency on Wednesday, acknowledged that past administrations may have improperly influenced these investigations and stressed that the new inquiry follows extensive settlement discussions. However, unresolved issues remain, such as the government's potential liability for constitutional damages, which are now expected to be addressed through the commission's terms of reference. In a statement, Saftu's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, condemned what it called a recurring pattern of 'governance by delegation and deferral — not by leadership.' According to Saftu, the government's response to major national crises has been to appoint commission after commission, yet few recommendations have been acted upon, and accountability remains elusive. The statement highlights the lack of progress following the Zondo Commission into State Capture, where despite extensive revelations of corruption, 'prosecutions are painfully slow, key enablers remain in office, and billions in stolen public funds have not been recovered.' Saftu says the same failures are evident in the aftermath of the Marikana Commission, the Life Esidimeni Arbitration, and the Nugent Commission into SARS, each revealing systemic abuse or negligence, followed by minimal consequences. Even the TRC, Saftu argues, has been betrayed. 'Three decades later, [its recommendations] have been ignored or shelved,' the federation says, adding that apartheid-era criminals who were denied or never sought amnesty remain unprosecuted, while victims and their families continue to suffer in silence. 'This endless cycle of commissions without consequences has become a deliberate strategy of avoidance,' the statement reads.
