African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has heaped praise on the good work of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into corruption in the criminal justice system, saying he would personally wish it to get another extension.
Mbalula was speaking during an engagement with the media at the ANC head office in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
According to Mbalula, the Madlanga commission’s success story in unearthing shenanigans in the criminal justice system cannot be disputed.
This after another top dog fell following revelations at the commission, with now-former IDAC boss Advocate Andrea Johnson’s resignation and the subsequent withdrawal of charges that were preferred against police crime-intelligence boss Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo by IDAC.
Mbalula said it had become abundantly clear that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police chief Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, during his famous July 2025 press briefing was not wrong when he said the rot in the criminal justice system runs deep.
It is Mbalula’s view that ANC members and leaders implicated in the commission must answer for themselves far away from the ANC.
Demilitarisation of police
And from the revelations at the commission, said Mbalula, one of the low-hanging fruits that could be implemented with ease would be the immediate demilitarisation of the police.
“This rank thing where everyone is a general must come to an end, let police be police and police civilians. They are not military and must have nothing to do with military ranks,” said Mbalula.
“What is encouraging is the fact that a commission that was established to do important work, you can see the results, you can touch it. It is not a witch-hunt but dealing with facts.
“Madlanga is doing a great job and the report will come in November. I do not know if by November this commission would have done justice unless you rush over a very important process that, when it concludes, must have dealt with everything on its desk,” Mbalula went on.
“If you leave it in the middle, it is like you’ve dealt with a wound, but you still leave it open and will come back again. Let us deal with all issues before Madlanga and finalise it, that is my personal opinion, which I do not have a right to express in this platform because the ANC will still make evaluation and make suggestions about that.”
Commissions not useless
Mbalula said the ANC has always supported the establishment of the Madlanga Commission, for it knew that state capture criminal networks were still running amok in the state despite the Zondo Commission, which merely scratched the surface.
Even when many had prejudged the Madlanga Commission as another useless talk shop that would amount to wasteful expenditure, the ANC had high hopes and the success of the commission vindicates them.
“We did assure everybody that the Madlanga Commission, including the Zondo Commission, was not useless. We see now people are being arrested because Madlanga Commission and other instruments of the state are now at work,” he said.
“The Madlanga Commission is cleaning criminality out of our police. We believe three things must happen: phone-call policing should come to an end, Ipid should return to its lawful mandate and demilitirisation of the police into a genuine service for the people.”
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- ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula praised the Madlanga Commission for effectively exposing corruption in the criminal justice system and expressed support for extending its mandate.
- The commission's findings led to the resignation of IDAC boss Advocate Andrea Johnson and the withdrawal of charges against police crime-intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Dumisani Khumalo.
- Mbalula endorsed demilitarising the police, criticizing the current use of military ranks and advocating for a civilian policing structure.
- He stressed that implicated ANC members should be held accountable outside the party and highlighted the commission's thorough, fact-based approach.
- The ANC remains committed to the Madlanga Commission, viewing it as crucial in combating criminality beyond previous efforts like the Zondo Commission.
