Latest news with #RaymondZondo
IOL News
a day ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Analysts warn SA risks repeating mistakes without action on Zondo report
Analysts weigh in on the former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's reflections on the emotional toll of the State Capture Commission. Image: Supplied Analysts have weighed in on former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's recent reflections about the emotional toll of presiding over South Africa's controversial State Capture Commission, stating that it highlights challenges in South Africa's anti-corruption efforts. In a recent statement that has sparked widespread debate, Zondo expressed the emotional toll of presiding over South Africa's controversial State Capture Commission. He reflected on the personal discomfort of swearing in officials implicated in corruption, including members of parliament, despite the damning evidence uncovered by the commission. His remarks come amid renewed scrutiny of the country's efforts to combat systemic corruption and the efficacy of commissions of inquiry. Speaking openly last week about his experiences, Zondo conveyed the pain of holding a position that, while vital for uncovering corruption, often resulted in uncomfortable realities. 'I had to swear in Cabinet ministers who had serious state capture findings against them,' he said, highlighting his role's moral and emotional complexity. Although the commission's work was widely praised and criticised for its thoroughness, questions remain about the tangible outcomes of such investigations. Analysts and academics have weighed in on Zondo's sentiments, stating that commissions are, by design, investigative and advisory bodies rather than judicial authorities. 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 Political analyst Dr Metjie Mkagoba, a senior lecturer at the University of Limpopo, explained, 'The issue is that commissions like Zondo's are meant to establish facts and make recommendations, not to deliver judgments or direct legal consequences.' He further noted the disconnect between uncovering evidence and translating findings into action. 'We spend vast sums on these commissions… more than R1 billion in the case of the Zondo Commission, yet there's often little follow-through regarding prosecution or systemic reform. That's a fundamental challenge in our governance.' Mkagoba pointed out that in South Africa, commissions are frequently used more for public humiliation than for delivering justice, often serving as a political tool rather than a pathway to accountability. 'Commission reports can expose who is corrupt, but unless there is political will to act, those findings remain largely symbolic,' he said. This sentiment echoes a 2024 Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) report highlighting that the Zondo Commission's recommendations are non-binding. The report states: 'Implementation of the Commission's recommendations is at the discretion of the President, and progress in Parliament has been slow and inconsistent.' It highlights the structural and political hurdles that hinder translating investigative findings into concrete legal actions. The timing of Zondo's comments coincides with renewed efforts to address police corruption, notably President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent announcement of a new commission to investigate allegations of organised crime involving top police officials and politicians, after General Lieutenant Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made the revelation. In response, Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said, 'The former chief justice has had access to the president whenever there were matters of concern to be discussed.' Meanwhile, critics argue that South Africa's approach to corruption remains fragmented. While commissions like Zondo's have shed light on widespread misconduct, the lack of follow-up action diminishes their overall impact. Mkagoba lamented, 'We need to move beyond investigations and ensure that political will and legal processes work hand-in-hand to hold perpetrators accountable.' IOL Politics
The Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald
What do you think of Zondo's outburst about his ‘pain' swearing in ministers ‘linked' to state capture?
Former chief justice Raymond Zondo's recent scathing rebuke of President Cyril Ramaphosa has sparked a debate. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Zondo said it pained him to swear in ministers who had serious state capture allegations against them. 'It was like the president was saying, 'I don't care what you have found about the people. I think they are good enough to be promoted',' Zondo said. 'The recommendations made in the state capture report were based on evidence that was led transparently when the entire nation was watching. We are defending the report because we believe it is sound. But I had to swear them in, remembering what I found against them.' The four-year inquiry has yielded few results, and some ANC top brass have contested it in court. Several ANC ministers have been embroiled in corruption allegations, including human settlements minister Thembi Simelane, police minister Senzo Mchunu who was recently placed on special leave, and Nobuhle Nkabane, who was dismissed as higher education minister. Zondo said Ramaphosa had been 'inconsistent' in disciplining cabinet ministers implicated in wrongdoing. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya dismissed Zondo's concerns, saying he has had access to the president whenever there were matters of concern to be discussed.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
'Disbanding crime-fighting Scorpions was a blunder'
Retired Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has stated that the Hawks, a crime-fighting unit, are not equipped for the task. He criticised the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions. Image: Picture: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers This week, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo reignited an old debate by stating that the Hawks, a crime-fighting unit, are not equipped for the task. He criticised the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions. Speaking at the South African Council of Churches' national church leaders' anti-corruption conference in Johannesburg. ''In the early 2000s, we had the Scorpions, which were very effective in fighting corruption. The criminals had begun to fear them.'In 2007, at the ANC elective conference, a resolution was taken to disband them. ''And they were disbanded. The results are there for all of us to see what happened about the levels of corruption, because I don't believe the Hawks, which were said to have taken their place, are up to that job,' he was quoted by IOL. Next Stay Close ✕ He said the State Capture Commission, which he chaired, in its report, refers to several cases that were lodged in 2017 by the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), which was chaired by Popo Molefe. 'We all know that corruption at Prasa has been there for ages, and nothing effective is being done. This board had gone to the Hawks and reported these criminal activities, and there were statements given. ''At the time of preparing the report of the (Zondo) Commission, in early 2022, which was about five years later, there was nobody who was arrested, and the Hawks said they were still investigating,' he added. The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), commonly known as the Scorpions, was a specialised unit of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa formed by President Thabo Mbeki, tasked with investigating and prosecuting high-level and priority crimes, including organised crime and corruption. The Scorpions pursued a "prosecution-led" approach or "troika model", meaning that investigators, forensic analysts, and prosecutors worked together on each case – investigators collected evidence for study by analysts, and both were directed by the needs of prosecutors in building a legally strong case. However, this model was criticised for undermining "the separation of powers" between investigators and prosecutors. Between 2005 and 2007, they initiated 368 investigations, completed 264, and prosecuted 214, with a conviction rate of 85%; during that period, they also seized R1 billion in assets and contraband worth R1 billion. Political expert, Sandile Swana, agreed with Zondo that the dissolution of the Scorpions during the 2007 ANC conference was a blunder: '''The Polokwane Conference was the opening of the floodgates of corruption. Now, whoever Zondo had been, the Sergeant General or the Professor of UCT, the Principal of UCT or anywhere else, the person of prominence, commenting on how we have allowed ourselves to be corrupted and accommodated corruption. '''The Hawks were a defamed scorpion, a scorpion that had no teeth. And as we can see from the assertions by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi now, the police as a whole is captured on the one hand by the mafia organised crime, on the other by politicians, and the policing in South Africa is ineffectual in any capacity whatsoever.'' Swana pointed the finger at the unions and churches, and the nation for not defending the Scorpions. ''So the public, those who were not part of the ANC factions, needed to rise. The South African Council of Churches, the civil society, all those, the unions, COSATU and others. Instead, they supported this dissolution." A few months ago, African National Congress (ANC) stalwart and former premier of Limpopo, Stanley Mathabatha, made an admission about the Scorpions: 'The mistake was to destroy the good structures that we had established to exert the authority of the state, for example, the Scorpions. I still believe it was a fundamental mistake to do away with the Scorpions. I was there (at the Polokwane conference), hence I am owning up to the mistake,' Mathabatha was qouted by IOL. Asked for comment on Zondo's remarks, ANC National Spokesperson, Mahlangu Bhengu, said: ''The ANC does not often respond to the views of retired members of the Judiciary. We believe there are checks and balances in place to address prosecutorial independence by established institutions, one of which is IDAC. '' IDAC is the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption.''We must continue to strengthen all three parts of the value chain in our criminal justice system, i.e, investigations, prosecutions and judicial work,'' she added.
IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Zondo and SACC urge immediate action as South Africa's corruption crisis escalates
Retired former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has called on the church to lead anti-corruption efforts as the country battles the scourge of graft, with recent revelations by KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Image: Karen Sandison / Independent Newspapers With the country's anti-corruption fight reflecting a worrying trend, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) have voiced their widespread condemnation of South Africa's endemic graft, which has now reached critical crisis levels. This comes on the back of a high number of high-profile corruption-related arrests implicating some of the country's leading political figures. The SACC stated that pastors who live and show off their lavish lifestyles at the expense of poor congregants are no different from corrupt politicians. This is as the SACC continues to reflect on the scourge as part of its National Anti-Corruption conference currently under way in Johannesburg. Opposition political parties and analysts have weighed in on the country's dismal attempts at reigning in the scourge. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ Zondo, speaking during his address to the conference's delegates on Wednesday, indicated that the bending of rules to favour certain important people was at the heart of the country's corruption problem. "We bend the rules when we have done something wrong because that has happened when it should not have happened. The church must be the one that leads us. It must tell the rest of us not to bend the rules. The rules apply to everybody," he stated. Zondo also questioned the resolution taken by the ANC in 2007 to disband the Scorpions in favour of the Hawks, currently tasked with investigating high-profile cases. The Activists and Citizens Forum, through its spokesperson, Denis Bloem, said corruption will be hard to beat as long as the ANC still holds power. "The country believed that under former president Jacob Zuma's administration, corruption was at its peak. However, the country was mistaken. Corruption is worse now and out of control under President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration. "The reason why there is no end to corruption is that the government is infiltrated by criminals masquerading as political leaders. Meanwhile, they are the biggest thieves. "General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told the country a few weeks ago that the South African Police Service is infiltrated by criminal syndicates and that some politicians are also on the payroll of these syndicates. Activists and Citizens Forum believe that corruption will not end as long as the ANC is in power. We know this so-called Government of National Unity is just a rubber stamp for the ANC," said Bloem. Reflecting on the excessive levels of corruption and fraud in the country, Rise Mzansi national spokesperson, Mabine Seabe, said the country's problems are not new, adding that all societies are affected by corruption. "Corruption is not a recent phenomenon, nor is it unique to a particular sector of society. What is of alarming concern is that it has taken hold of every aspect of life, where almost every service requires or can be extracted through corrupt means. The Zondo Commission illustrated the industrial nature of corruption with both the private and public sectors lubricating corrupt actions," he said. As for the recent bombshell by KZN Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi, which has implicated senior politicians and the SAPS, Seabe welcomed the recently established Judicial Commission of Inquiry to look into the criminal elements in the country's political elite and the police. "Moreover, the allegations made by Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi point to a nexus between powerful elites and organised crime. "We believe that the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry and Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee to probe Mkhwanazi's allegations are well-placed to probe the alleged collapse and capture of South Africa's safety, security, and justice apparatus; hold those responsible accountable; and recommend the necessary reforms," Seabe added. Attempts to get a comment from the ANC, which has been accused of failing to root out corruption among its leaders, were unsuccessful at the time of going to print. However, this week, ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, addressed the recent developments affecting Senzo Mchunu during the ANC's National Working Committee (NWC) meeting with the Provincial Executive Committee, saying the party welcomed Ramaphosa's decision to establish a judicial commission of inquiry to probe the allegations against Mchunu. "Senzo Mchunu has an opportunity now, in terms of the audi alteram partem principle, to also present his side of the story. Once we listen to that, it is also evaluated in terms of facts by a competent, independent judge, and a judicial commission, like the president appointed, then we can pass judgment," he said.
IOL News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Are commissions in South Africa a tool for justice or a shield for corruption?
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo chaired the Judicial Commission into State Capture. The Zondo Commission's R1 billion inquiry yielded minimal prosecutions despite documenting R1.5 trillion in state capture. Image: Karen Sandison/African News Agency (ANA) FORMER EFF politician Mbuyiseni Ndlozi argues that a president cannot find anyone guilty, advocating instead for proper judicial commissions of inquiry, led by a judge, with strict timelines. He deems this 'proper' for a democracy. However, the subsequent analysis of South African commissions reveals how they often fall short of this ideal, instead perpetuating systemic violence and delaying justice. The Commissions Act, 1947 (Act No 8 of 1947), used for inquiries such as the Zondo Commission on State Capture, originated under British colonial rule. This embedded a legalistic façade for systemic violence. It enabled apartheid-era inquiries, such as the Hefer Commission (2003) and Donen Commission (2002), which probed 'financial irregularities' while ignoring Black suffering under racial capitalism. Like colonial inquests pathologising indigenous resistance, modern commissions prioritise bureaucratic order over human dignity. Tebogo Thobejane's condemnation: 'No mention of the lack of protection… left to fight alone,' echoes this centuries-old erasure. After surviving an assassination attempt, she now navigates a trial process offering legal theatrics, not safety. 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 Commissions ritually harvest victim trauma while withholding redress. The Marikana Commission (2012) gathered 641 days of testimony from widows of massacred miners, yet delivered no prosecutions or timely reparations. This pattern repeats in Thobejane's case as her ex-boyfriend's corruption trial expands while her paralysed friend remains unsupported. Similarly, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) heard 21 000 victims' testimonies but granted amnesty to 1 500 perpetrators, providing only nominal reparations. This dynamic inherits colonial evidence-gathering: Black pain becomes archival fodder, catalogued and then discarded. As Thobejane noted, President Cyril Ramaphosa's speeches often overlook victims, reducing their experiences to procedural footnotes. Commission structures inherently protect power networks. The Mokgoro Commission (2018) and Ginwala Inquiry (2007) scrutinised prosecutors threatening political elites under the NPA Act. Inquiries into police violence, such as those in Khayelitsha (2012), operated with weaker mandates. This bifurcation mirrors colonial divide-and-rule tactics, ensuring accountability often evaporates. The Zondo Commission's R1 billion inquiry, for instance, yielded minimal prosecutions despite documenting R1.5 trillion in state capture. Victims like Thobejane experience justice as temporary violence, marked by endless postponements while perpetrators retain influence. Ramaphosa's latest commission of inquiry investigating the now suspended chief of police, Senzo Mchunu, offers suspension, not prosecution. Judicial appointments cloak commissions in false objectivity. Retired judges like Judge Ian Farlam (Marikana) and Seriti (Arms Deal) lent legitimacy to inquiries that ultimately shielded the interests of the state and corporations. The President's latest 'independent commission' further demonstrates how these bodies often obscure underlying political complexities and power struggles. This legal theatre pathologises victims: Marikana miners were framed as 'illegal strikers', while Thobejane's assault became a tabloid spectacle. Colonial inquiries similarly recast resistance as deviance, using statutes to sanctify state violence. When commissions centre perpetrators' due process over victims' safety, they enact 'racial terror through bureaucracy'. The TRC's unresolved legacy continues to haunt contemporary commissions. Thirty years later, only 137 of its recommended prosecutions have been investigated, while apartheid-era cases like the Cradock Four murders remain in legal limbo. Nomonde Calata's tears at a 2025 inquest echo her 1996 TRC testimony, testifying to the commission's broken promises. Thobejane's demand for 'accountability and support' confronts this cycle; her ex-boyfriend faces new charges while his police and political connections remain intact. Reparations remain theoretical: TRC victims received a single payment of R30 000 each, while Marikana families await R1 billion in compensation. This reflects colonialism's core calculus: human suffering indexed against fiscal 'pragmatism'. Breaking this machinery requires centring victims as architects, not evidence. Unlike Ramaphosa's commissions, a transformative approach would enforce existing recommendations: implementing the Khayelitsha Commission's 2012 police reforms, funding TRC-mandated educational reparations, and prosecuting the network of Thobejane's ex-boyfriend beyond his hitmen. Thobejane's couragec — demanding protection while testifying — sets a model for this agency. Yet, without dismantling the Commissions Act and colonial-era legalisms, inquiries remain stone fortresses where violence is ritualised, not remedied. South Africa remains fractured by inequality, a landscape where commissions consecrate state power while the vulnerable fight alone in the ruins. Siyayibanga le economy! * Siyabonga Hadebe is an independent commentator based in Geneva on socio-economic, political and global matters. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL. 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