The Pretoria High Court has struck off the urgent application by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) and its leader, former President Jacob Zuma, which sought to halt the operations of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. The court ruled on Thursday that the party’s bid is not sufficiently urgent and therefore cannot be heard on its merits at this time. In its ruling, the court found that the MK Party’s case did not meet the threshold of urgency required for…

Day two of the Madlanga Commission into political killings in KwaZulu-Natal once again placed the country’s criminal justice system under the spotlight, as provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi continued his explosive testimony. Mkhwanazi, who first shook the political establishment in July with allegations of entrenched corruption within the police and links between senior politicians and crime syndicates, told the commission chaired by Justice Madlanga that political interference in policing was not a thing of the past. “Commissioner, there…

Day one of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system closed at about 4pm on Tuesday at the Bridgette Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria after almost six hours of testimony from KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Mkhwanazi began his evidence just after 10:30 and, following a lunch adjournment, resumed at 14:00. His testimony set the tone for what many observers believe may be a fraught and revealing inquiry:…

The long-awaited Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system opened in Pretoria on Wednesday with dramatic testimony from KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Mkhwanazi, who has served in the South African Police Service (SAPS) for decades, became the first senior witness to take the stand before Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. His evidence set the tone for what promises to be one of the most consequential inquiries into policing and governance…

The long-delayed Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Political Killings is finally set to commence its hearings on Wednesday, 17 September 2025, despite mounting legal challenges and fierce opposition from political parties. The commission, chaired by Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the wake of shocking revelations by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. In July, Mkhwanazi rocked the security establishment with a bombshell press briefing in Durban, accusing senior figures within the justice…

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has announced a major breakthrough in the fight against political killings, but the success comes amid dramatic upheaval at the highest levels of the police and government. National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola confirmed that two suspects — a traditional chief and an alleged hitman — have been arrested in connection with the 2022 assassination of whistleblower Xolani Ndlovu Ntombela in KwaZulu-Natal. The arrests form part of renewed investigations into 121 unresolved dockets linked to…

Justice and Constitutional Development Director-General Advocate Doctor Mashabane has been suspended, along with Deputy Director-General for ICT Jabu Hlatshwayo, following administrative failures that have forced a delay in the start of the highly anticipated Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Politics and the State. Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced the suspensions at a press briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday afternoon, citing “serious lapses” that compromised the commission’s readiness. The inquiry, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was meant to begin on…

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has launched a scathing attack on the suspension of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Justice System, branding it a “political spectacle” designed to delay and ultimately deny justice to South Africans. The Commission, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was due to begin hearings on 1 September 2025 but has been indefinitely postponed after the Department of Justice failed to secure the infrastructure necessary for…

South Africa’s already fragile trust in commissions of inquiry has taken another blow following the sudden suspension of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System — popularly known as the Madlanga Commission. The inquiry, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was set to begin hearings on 1 September 2025 but has been postponed indefinitely after the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development failed to provide the infrastructure needed for the Commission to…

South Africa’s much-anticipated Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System has been hit by a major setback after it was forced to postpone its hearings, which were due to begin on 1 September 2025. The Commission, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, confirmed on Tuesday that hearings cannot proceed because the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development failed to deliver on key infrastructure commitments needed for the inquiry to operate. “Were it not…