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Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
We must honour Mandela by fighting the corruption in the heart of our democracy
Mandela was a lover and a fighter, a symbol of struggle against oppression and a champion of peace and forgiveness. His bravery in standing up against the evil empire is our bravery. His hope and humour and humanity are ours. It's in us and up to us to stand up against those in Mandela's party, and indeed any political party, who choose to rob us blind. Every year we celebrate Mandela Day on 18 July. It's a global campaign to honour the remarkable life and legacy of the founding father of our democracy, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. The Nelson Mandela Foundation turned Madiba's birthday into a call to action for individuals, communities and organisations, urging them to take time to reflect on Mandela's values and principles and make a positive impact in their own communities. I will never forget the warm, fuzzy feeling I felt when I stood shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people on the Grand Parade in Cape Town in 1990 as Mandela stepped on to the balcony of City Hall and said to all of us: 'I come to you as your servant.' It was the humility and dignity of this stately yet grandfatherly man; it was hearing a voice that had been banned for 27 years speak to our hearts; it was the realisation and the sense of relief that the years of campaigning against apartheid and inequality, risking jail and police batons and death, might just have been worth it. That we may have succeeded in toppling the evil empire of racism, exclusion and violence. And that maybe, just maybe, we could live in freedom. There are many of Mandela's heirs in the ANC and its political party offshoots like the MK party, formed as comrades turned on each other for their time to 'eat', and who have done nothing to build on the tremendous goodwill that we, the South African people, have granted them. The recent allegations by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that a drug cartel based in Gauteng was controlling a high-level criminal syndicate that has the Police Ministry, politicians, prosecutors and judges in its pockets, came as no surprise. Because ever since 1994, more and more comrades have been in cahoots with criminals and gangsters, buying favours and seats at the table. Rot and Cancer We had former police commissioner Jackie Selebi's dalliance with his drug dealer friend, 'finish and klaar' Glenn Agliotti. And the rot and cancer has spread far and wide. The Guptas landed with their bums in bucket-loads of ghee when Jacob Zuma led his family, friends and the ANC into Saxonwold. Judge Raymond Zondo's State Capture chronicles feature a long list of ANC comrades whose fingers were in the trough. Criminality has stretched its tentacles all over the ANC at every centre of government, from local, provincial and national level to parastatals across the country. And when the ANC gets voted out, the criminals find politicians in other parties to cosy up to. It has come to the point where it is hard to trust any politician. We do not know which lobbyist or foreign agency or wealthy person is behind them. Our democracy is a marketplace where favours and influence are sold to the highest bidder. And global druglords who peddle poison to our youth have found ripe pickings in this country that gave Mandela to us and the world. Mandela was a human born of a different era. Our son of the South African soil arrived on 18 July 1918, deep in the era of the colonial conquest that saw the land of indigenous people taken by the minions of the Dutch East India Company and footsoldiers of the British Empire who distributed it to white settler populations. Mandela was a freedom fighter, a leader of the ANC who started the armed struggle and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) when peaceful protest against apartheid was met with violence. He and his fellow Rivonia triallists' incarceration in the 1960s did not silence their resistance to the apartheid state. Nor could it silence generation after generation of South Africans, from Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness movement to the trade union movement, United Democratic Front, Mass Democratic Movement, Black Sash, Lawyers for Human Rights, Detainees' Parents Support Committee… and ordinary South Africans who stood up, fists clenched against what was wrong. Biko was a proponent of the Black Consciousness philosophy that emphasised the importance of black people freeing ourselves psychologically from the internalised effects of oppression. He urged us to embrace our own identity and take control of our own liberation. For his promotion of self-reliance and resistance to the notion that black people are inferior to white people, he was arrested and murdered in detention. There were others. Millions of others. They belonged to women's groups, churches, temples, artist groups. There were resistance organisations like the New Unity Movement, the Azanian People's Organisation and the Pan-Africanist Congress. Not just the ANC. Not just Mandela. Global icon What drew the world to Mandela and turned him into a global icon was that even though he was a freedom fighter who started MK, he didn't leave Robben Island to sing 'Kill the Boer, kill the farmer' at every opportunity, as ANC protégé and EFF leader Julius Malema does. Nor did he take to every political rally singing Umshini Wami (Bring Me My Machine Gun), as Jacob Zuma does. Mandela was a lover and a fighter, a symbol of struggle against oppression and a champion of peace and forgiveness. His long imprisonment created a powerful narrative of personal sacrifice that humanised the anti-apartheid struggle. On 18 July, and every day, many South Africans give 67 minutes of their time and more to do good — helping others, cleaning cities, caring for neglected children, raising funds for charitable causes in memory of the spirit of Mandela. We are a nation of generous, kind, warm-hearted, freedom-loving people. It is our spirit of resilience and generosity that created Mandela. His bravery in standing up against the evil empire is our bravery. His hope and humour and humanity are ours. It's in us and up to us to stand up against those in Mandela's party, and indeed any political party, who choose to rob us blind. There are no saviours coming to rescue us. In us resides the ability to build the kind of country we deserve. We stand on the shoulders of generations of giants who fought for freedom. It's our turn now. DM
Daily Maverick
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Letter to Mahlamba Ndlopfu: This is ‘a matter of grave national security concern'
Ah, Chief Dwasaho! I am utterly gobsmacked. The torrent of breaking news keeps splattering our politicians in shades of scandal, casting them as nothing more than imigodoyi — 'useless dogs' — to borrow the loaded phrase our elder statesman, former president Thabo Mbeki, unleashed at the height of the State Capture saga and the grand theatre of Zumanomics. Rich Mashimbye, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg, decoded Mbeki's biting words in 2023. In essence, Dr Mashimbye argues that imigodoyi denotes ANC cadres as 'people who are essentially criminals and always act in ways intended to advance an agenda rather than for the greater good of society'. Let's rewind the tape to Super Sunday. Enter stage left: KwaZulu-Natal's South African Police Service (SAPS) provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Lucky Mkhwanazi, the man with a gift for deadpan one-liners like 'unfortunately, there's an engagement inside, and a suspect was fatally wounded'. This time, the general wasn't just dropping routine pressers; he was lobbing long-range missiles straight at the political establishment, shaking pillars and ruffling feathers in places where the blue lights shine brightest, yet brown envelopes are hidden in plain sight. As the man of the moment, Mkhwanazi knew that optics are key — and boy, did he command the stage to send a straightforward message to those still clinging to the illusion of being untouchable: your time is up. But Comrade Leadership, let's not kid ourselves; he wasn't just about the optics. Sure, the sight of those men (Special Task Force) kitted out in military fatigues (and not the cheap PEP ones) with balaclavas pulled tight and R5 rifles strapped across their chests would have sent shivers down the spine of even the most tender-loving politician. Clueless analyst Of course, it jolted even a clueless analyst or an apolitical onlooker like me into action as social media platforms went abuzz. I missed the live presser but had to remedy that situation quickly with a double-shot black Americano, two boiled eggs, and two slices of brown toast while glued to the recording on YouTube. The content screamed, in no uncertain terms, 'a matter of grave national security concern'. And let's talk about Mkhwanazi himself. The man's got the gift of the gab, his delivery slow, measured, but slicing through the nonsense like a panga through sugarcane. Honestly, who else rocks up to a press conference armed with an entire PowerPoint presentation? This guy did. Mkhwanazi laid down the law of evidence: 'Electronic communication of this arrested person, Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala.' And he didn't stop there. 'This analysis reveals communication between the arrested Vusimusi Cat Matlala, Mr Brown Mogotsi, an associate of the minister of police, and the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu.' Then he delivered the final blow: 'My findings show certain politicians, law enforcement, SAPS, metro police, correctional services, prosecutors and the judiciary are controlled by drug cartels and businesspeople.' For the politically uninitiated, 'Cat' Matlala is the tender don of the Tembisa Hospital, where billions were looted, and the whistleblower Babita Deokaran was assassinated. Triggermen entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority, a sure sign of the code of silence associated with the Underworld. Until recently, 'Cat' Matlala had infected the SAPS by offering health services — the audacity. According to a News24 Special Report, 'after securing a R360-million SAPS health services tender, despite zero qualifications, amid allegations of fraud, fronting and collusion, Matlala's tentacles extended to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and former minister Bheki Cele'. Let me spell it out, Comrade Leadership: Babita Deokaran wasn't some anonymous paper-pusher. She was the Acting Chief Financial Officer in the Gauteng Department of Health, and the woman brave enough to pull the curtain back on nearly R1-billion in dodgy contracts funnelled through Tembisa Hospital — payments for everything from overpriced gloves to suspicious medical supplies. A hail of bullets And what was her reward? A hail of bullets outside her home in Winchester Hills, her blood seeping into the asphalt of our so-called democracy. The six hitmen who confessed are behind bars, but the big fish, the architects of this mafia-style hit, remain untouched, raising one screaming question: Who is protecting the real masterminds? I guess we all know who the masterminds are by now. The dominoes are falling, one by one, like rotten fruit off an overripe tree. But I digress. Not content with bullet points, Mkhwanazi rolled out a forensic timeline of events, peppered with WhatsApp receipts for extra spice. And here's the kicker: he didn't need to beg anyone to connect the dots. The dots lined themselves up and practically drew the picture for us. The performance of the political establishment since the missiles of Mkhwanazi's exposé flew from Durban to Brazil. Its shrapnel scattering all the way to Rio outside the BRICS+ conference has been nothing short of comical. Ministers, big shots, and the usual spin doctors have been tying themselves in knots trying to outrun the truth like an unmarked black SUV stuffed with menacing-looking Blue Light Bullies. Meanwhile, a flurry of gibberish words masquerading as media statements keeps flying thick and fast, even though you, my leader, called for 'restraint'. Yet restraint seems as scarce as an honest tenderpreneur these days. 'I don't know him — actually, I do — but he isn't my associate, just a comrade,' one Underworld operative mumbled to a gaggle of journalists, their eyes bloodshot and notepads sagging under the weight of scandal. Really now, what on Earth, for Peter's sake, is the difference, comrade — associate — friend, or partner in crime? Because to those of us out here, it's all starting to look like the same rotten stew. Another, cool as ice, admitted to crashing in the Cat's penthouse, yet swore mindlessly there was no 'business relationship'. So, tell us: What exactly is the relationship, then, between the accused and the former politician — platonic, sexual or something even more sinister? 'It wasn't me' All we've heard from the police top brass is: 'It wasn't me, wasn't me, of course it wasn't me.' It sounds like a national chorus of off-key Shaggy impersonators; they keep denying, deflecting, and ducking while the truth skulks in the shadows, smoking a Cuban cigar. I've said it a million times: your word, my leader, must mean something. Otherwise, 'we are on our own'. And believe me, Comrade Leadership, if the past few days have taught us anything, it is that it doesn't. The latest episode is a sequel to the spectacular fall from grace suffered by the late, corrupt police chief Jackie Selebi who belted out the immortal words that sealed his fate: 'He is my friend, finish and klaar.' He was talking about a civilian, mind you — a man already unmasked as none other than a drug lord. That's the calibre of explanations we're being served today: half-lies, twisted truths, and frantic denials all wrapped in the comedic circus of the politically damned. Meanwhile, the actors scramble for plausible deniability, leaving the rest of us to piece together the obvious: the rot runs deep, and the Cat's claws have scratched far more than just the surface. The pageantry of imigodoyi who infiltrated the ANC back in the days of exile and the underground and somehow slithered to the top post apartheid, is now playing out in full view for all of us to see. All along, we've been passengers, led like lambs to the slaughterhouse, believing we were on a luxury bus to freedom. But what freedom, really? Last week, I posed what I thought was an ominous question: 'How does one simply go to bed and wake up no longer part of the ANC, in any shape or form?' That was an awkward and misinformed question. The real question is: How do people, in good conscience, keep voting for Christmas (ANC) the way turkeys have been doing for over a century? Mkhwanazi has raised his hand; as far as I'm concerned, he is now the country's most critical national key point. Please do the right thing, my leader: instead of your judicial commission of inquiry, give us a panel of retired sleuths and senior counsels to investigate and prosecute, pronto. Meanwhile, Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya and the minister of police should be suspended with full pay and retain their security detail.
IOL News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
'Disappointing': Busi Mkhwebane criticises Ramaphosa's SAPS inquiry as a waste of resources
Mpumalanga convenor of the MK party, former Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Image: Independent Newspapers Former Public Protector and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK party) Mpumalanga convenor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has lambasted President Cyril Ramaphosa's move to place embattled Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave, and the establishment of a commission of inquiry into allegations regarding law enforcement agencies. IOL reported on Sunday that while the placement of Mchunu on special leave was applauded by some, the decision to establish a commission of inquiry into allegations regarding the South African Police Service (SAPS) was largely criticised. Political analysts said that the commission could be a waste of time and resources, like the Zondo commission, which was established to investigate the allegations of State Capture in 2019. In an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Mkwebane said the resources channeled towards the commission of inquiry could be funneled towards improving the SAPS. "I would say, being the former Public Protector, it is very disappointing. The country is in tatters, and the decision that the president has taken, won't take us any further. We are still going to be impacted because no commission of inquiry was ever implemented. The president has usurped the powers of Chapter 9 institutions. The worst part is that the commission of inquiry just makes recommendations, holding the country in suspense. "We need resources, as Mpumalanga as well, we need resources. You put a minister on special leave, why not remove the minister, because the president, in terms of the Constitution, has the powers to do that immediately. Why waste resources? You appoint somebody who is a director of Corruption Watch, funded by foreign backers like George Soros. I think he is putting the country deep, deep into trouble and that will impact us as a province." 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 ✕ Prof. Firoz Cachalia Image: Facebook Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Professor Cachalia as acting minister of police, pending the outcome of the commission of inquiry. Cachalia, a legal academic and chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, will assume the role in August. Cachalia, 66, is a former anti-apartheid activist, lawyer, academic, and experienced public servant. Born in Benoni in 1958, he became involved in student politics against apartheid in the late 1970s and 1980s. Mkhwebane said the province of Mpumalanga, like other provinces in South Africa, is bedevilled by massive unemployment levels. She said fighting the scourge of corruption requires a head-on approach, not commissions of inquiry. "That money should have been utilised to make sure that the police are quick, they arrest and remove people who are not supposed to be there because there is evidence which commissioner (KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla) Mkhwanazi has delivered. I think this is disappointing," she said. Ramaphosa on Sunday announced his decision to establish the commission of inquiry and place Mchunu on special leave following allegations made by Mkhwanazi, who accused Mchunu of sabotaging a probe into political killings by seizing 121 open case files in March and pushing to disband the team tasked with the probe. Mkhwanazi claimed that Mchunu had connections to members of a crime syndicate. He also accused some senior police officials of being involved in corruption. IOL News
Daily Maverick
14-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Explainer: Ramaphosa making sunshine out of RDP and RET shadows
After four presidents (stop trying to make the Kgalema Motlanthe 'era' happen) and no fewer than six different plans to grow the economy, South Africa is still in bad shape… Let's look back at the path that got us here. After a week of being the weird guy at the braai/birthday party/coffee shop/shopping mall asking every person of sufficient age: 'What comes to mind when you hear the letters RDP?' it has come to light that a number of South Africans don't know that each presidential administration has been guided by an economic policy. And now that the ghosts of State Capture (Molefe arrest, SAPS rot) and Radical Economic Transformation (Julius Malema's plan to nationalise the Reserve Bank) have had their time haunting the 2025 news cycle, it seems like the perfect opportunity to unpack the economic path Cyril Ramaphosa has had to travel, and what may lie ahead. The reality is that South Africa's post-apartheid economic story isn't just about presidents making speeches about transformation – it's about distinct economic eras, each with their own policy frameworks, promises and ultimately, their own report cards written in stunted GDP growth rates and lamentable employment statistics. Starting from the negative An uncomfortable truth for many apartheid apologists is that the old regime did the country no favours. In 1994, the newly democratic South Africa inherited what was referred to as a 'technically bankrupt' economy. FW de Klerk's administration had been shielding R86.7-billion in foreign debt (about $14-billion at the time), an economy crippled by sanctions, and the worst 10-year growth performance since World War 2. More fundamentally, decades of exclusionary policies had created what would become known as the 'triple challenges' – poverty, inequality and unemployment. These weren't just statistics; they were the lived reality of millions of South Africans who had been systematically excluded from economic participation. And then it grew, courtesy of a fully funded pension scheme. When the freedom writing was indelibly on the wall, outgoing officials made sure their own pensions and golden handshakes were bulletproof, even if it meant loading up the country's credit card. According to UN research, in 1989, government debt sat at R68-billion – but by 1996, it had exploded to R308-billion. Debt repayments jumped from R12-billion a year to more than R30-billion, while the Government Employees Pension Fund assets fattened up from R31-billion to R136-billion. The great reconstruction project When Nelson Mandela walked free, the country was hungry for redress. His Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was a moral and social lifeline to jumpstart the inclusive economy. But by 1996, fiscal reality bit hard. Enter Gear (Growth, Employment, and Redistribution), a pivot towards macroeconomic orthodoxy that prioritised fiscal discipline, deficit reduction and trade liberalisation. RDP was never officially scrapped, but Gear was supposed to fund it through growth. Haters see it as a failure, but the RDP's delivery was genuinely impressive. More than 1.1 million low-cost houses were built by 2001, benefiting around five million people. Clean piped water reached nearly 4.9 million people by 2000. Rural electricity connections jumped from 12% to 42%, with 1.75 million homes connected. Around 500 new clinics were built. Gear delivered macroeconomic stability – the fiscal deficit was slashed to 2.2%, inflation brought down to 5.4%, and negative GDP growth was reversed. But despite Gear's consonant success, it failed spectacularly on its employment and redistribution vowels. The hoped-for private investment boom never materialised sufficiently. Growth was concentrated in the tertiary and financial sectors, not in labour-absorbing industries. Agricultural employment collapsed from 1.4 million to 637,000 between 1994 and 1998. The rise of the technocrat When Thabo Mbeki picked up the Gear baton of 'jobless growth', he articulated its structural flaws in a 'Two Economies' thesis. This notion, introduced in 2003, acknowledged that macroeconomic stability hadn't translated into widespread job creation. There was a 'first economy' (modern, skilled, global) and a 'second economy' (marginalised, informal, poverty-trapped). This analysis led to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) in 2005 – a targeted, evidence-based policy aiming for 4.5% annual growth from 2005-2009, then 6% from 2010-2014, with the highfalutin goal of halving unemployment and poverty by 2014. And boy, did it make an impact. For the first time since 1994, economic growth seriously addressed unemployment, with the official joblessness rate falling from over 31% in 2003 to around 22% by late 2008. The AsgiSA period (2004-2007) saw the economy expand robustly, averaging more than 5% annual growth. Massive infrastructure investments were launched, including the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link and 2010 Fifa World Cup infrastructure. The country's fiscal health was further strengthened, with public debt significantly reduced. A crash felt around the world AsgiSA's momentum was brutally interrupted by a savage one-two combination of the 2008 global financial crisis and Mbeki's knockout-blow political recall by the ANC in September 2008. The era's darkest shadow was Mbeki's HIV/Aids denialism, which led to an estimated 330,000 preventable deaths – a devastating human cost that overshadowed economic achievements. Officially, the Jacob Zuma era promised a 'developmental state' through various policy frameworks. The New Growth Path (2010) aimed to create five million jobs by 2020. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2030, introduced in 2012, was a comprehensive long-term vision to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. By 2017, 'Radical Economic Transformation' (RET) was the rallying cry (alongside Zuma's obsession with being brought a machine gun), officially aimed at fundamental changes in economic ownership. In practice, RET became a synonym for wholesale looting of state-owned enterprises. Nine wasted years Okay, we felt it and it was here: the 2010 Fifa World Cup was successfully hosted (though much infrastructure planning occurred under Mbeki). We also gained free higher education for poor and working-class students in 2017, but, as we have come to find, without a concept of sustainable funding plans. This era represents the most catastrophic failure in South Africa's post-apartheid economic history. State Capture – the systematic repurposing of state institutions for private gain – is estimated to have reduced potential GDP growth by up to 4% per year. Key institutions were systematically weakened. SOEs such as Eskom and Transnet were crippled by corruption and mismanagement, leading to load shedding and logistics failures that continue to plague the economy. The country suffered multiple credit rating downgrades to 'junk' status. The NDP, widely lauded by economists, was never meaningfully implemented. Its tenets directly contradicted the political project of State Capture unfolding in real time. A work in constant progress To clarify: Ramaphosa's 'New Dawn' narrative is actually called the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). Introduced in 2020 in the face of another global crisis (read: Covid), the focus was on high-impact priorities: job-creating infrastructure projects, energy security, industrialisation through localisation and structural reforms in network industries. While some progress has been made – Eskom reforms, increased private power generation, and the SRD Grant cushioning the worst of the pandemic – South Africa remains bogged down in crisis mode. Logistics failures and persistent energy woes drag on growth, which has averaged a dismal 0.7% over the past decade. The pandemic knocked GDP down by 6.2% in 2020, and unemployment soared to record highs: 32.7% overall, with youth unemployment topping 60%. Freight rail collapse continues to sabotage export competitiveness. On a macro scale, the country's economic trajectory over the past 30 years paints a sobering picture. Averaging only 1.2% annual growth since 1994, the country has chronically underperformed – trailing far behind upper middle-income peers, which grew nearly four times faster, and lower middle-income economies, which outpaced South Africa by a factor of 2.6. This persistent stagnation has resulted in a classic 'middle-income trap', with the nation stuck well short of its economic potential. Meanwhile, the country's industrial base has eroded: manufacturing's contribution to GDP has shrunk by 13% since 1994, and mining's share has fallen from 15.5% to just 8.1%. Perhaps most concerning, job creation has consistently failed to keep pace with a growing labour force. The employment absorption rate stands at just 56.3%, which means that out of 100 new entrants into the workforce, only 56 find employment. Three decades after democracy, South Africa's economic gains remain fragile and incomplete. The challenge, now more than ever, is to break out of stagnation and ignite truly inclusive growth. DM
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
