CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A parliamentary committee and judicial commission investigating explosive corruption allegations against South African police are competing for the same witnesses, raising concerns about overlapping jurisdiction as both probes prepare to begin hearings this month.
The ad hoc parliamentary committee expressed frustration Wednesday after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said he could not appear before September 24 due to commitments at the Madlanga Commission, which begins public hearings September 17.
“We cannot play second fiddle to the commission of enquiry,” said Economic Freedom Fighters committee member Leigh-Anne Mathys. “We are already making ourselves appear as though we are not a serious ad hoc committee.”
The tensions highlight challenges facing South Africa’s dual-track investigation into Mkhwanazi’s July allegations that drug cartels have infiltrated law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary. President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and appointed the judicial commission led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Parliament simultaneously established its own committee to exercise oversight of the executive branch. The committee must report findings by October 31, while the commission has six months to complete its work.
uMkhonto weSizwe Party member Sibonelo Nomvalo told the committee Wednesday that parliament needed to “stamp our authority” over the executive-appointed commission.
The Madlanga Commission possesses broader investigative powers including search-and-seizure operations and authority to hold hearings in camera for classified information. Chief Evidence Leader Matthew Chaskalson said the commission has backing from Ramaphosa to access classified materials.
“We are appointed to advise the president, who is the head of the executive,” Chaskalson said in a statement.
The parliamentary committee faces restrictions on handling classified information. Committee member Khusela Sangoni Diko acknowledged they would need to engage other state organs to reclassify sensitive documents.
Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi, who chairs parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts, defended the parallel investigations.
“There is a separation of powers in South Africa,” Zibi said. “Parliament must do its work, and the judicial commission must do its work.”
The commission’s September 17 start date follows weeks of delays caused by procurement failures at the Department of Justice. Two senior officials were suspended over the infrastructure delays that pushed back the original September 1 launch.
Political analyst William Gumede suggested parliament should wait for the commission’s findings before conducting follow-up oversight rather than competing for witnesses.
“Many of these issues can be handled by existing mechanisms,” analyst Sandile Swana said, criticizing what he called “duplicative effort typical of our president.”
The investigations follow Mkhwanazi’s unprecedented July 6 press conference where he accused Mchunu of receiving payments from corruption suspects and disbanding a unit investigating political killings under pressure from criminal syndicates.
South Africa ranks 82nd globally on Transparency International’s corruption perception index. The country recorded over 27,000 murders last year according to police statistics.
