SAPS Turmoil: Dispelling Trust Deficit In The Judiciary Will Help Restore Confidence

Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu

The date Sunday, July 6, 2025, will go down in the annals of South African history as one of the memorable dates in post-apartheid South Africa. It was on this day when Lt-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, convened a media briefing to inform the nation about the alleged rot in the South African Police Service (SAPS).

What was of utmost importance with this media briefing was that Mkhwanazi did not just implicate the top brass within SAPS – including Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, who is the former Head of Hawks in Gauteng. He also implicated the metro police officials, traffic officers and most importantly, prosecutors.

As the saying goes, Mkhwanazi ventured even where angels fear to tread. While these allegations are yet to be tested, Mkhwanazi’s tone and the evidence he shared with the public make his allegations plausible.

Indeed, President Cyril Ramaphosa was abroad when this media briefing happened. But, as would be expected, he was briefed while in South America. By the time he returned to the country, the nation expected him to call his media briefing or to arrange a ‘family meeting’ so that he could address the nation about an issue he conceded was serious and thus needed urgent attention.

Ironically, it was only on July 13, 2025 – exactly a week later that Ramaphosa addressed the nation on this matter. Views differ about the justification of this delay. Some say that the president needed to consult and get all the details before he could speak – which is understandable. Others blame him for delaying unnecessarily while the nation waited impatiently. The latter group assert that Ramaphosa used the ‘consultation time’ for ill intentions, meant to let people’s emotions die down.

Whatever the correct explanation might be, it would be difficult to find the president guilty of breaking any law. It was still within his right to apply his mind before taking any action. But being legally or constitutionally correct does not equate being rational. In other words, constitutionality and rationality do not always work together.

What is even more interesting is not the delay by the president. Instead, it is what he said when he eventually addressed the nation on July 13. 

Two things stood out from Ramaphosa’s address. The first one was his announcement that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was being placed on Special leave. This did not come as a surprise since many of us had already justifiably made such a proposal. Mchunu could even have saved his president time by voluntarily stepping aside pending any investigation. Anyway, that is now water under the bridge.

The second important announcement by Ramaphosa was that he was appointing a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that will investigate the allegations made by Mkhwanazi. This is what raised eyebrows and triggered several questions.

The first question became: Does South Africa need yet another Commission of Inquiry? If so, what purpose will it serve, especially given that there are still many questions about the now defunct Zondo Commission? Does South Africa’s current financial position warrant the appointment of more Commissions whose recommendations might not even be implemented?

While the many questions posed above are relevant, the most critical one became: can the public pin its trust on the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that was announced by Ramaphosa? For example, was Acting Deputy Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, who will chair the Inquiry, not part of the Phala Phala inquiry? If so, what does that say about public trust, especially given the many questions which still exist regarding the reports that were produced about this incident?

Importantly, since Mkhwanazi implicated the judiciary in his allegation, can the judiciary be honest enough to investigate itself or should the President have looked at other options in his bid to verify and authenticate Mkhwanazi’s allegations? Should this announced Judicial Commission produce a report which refutes all or most of the claims made by Mkhwanazi, what will the public say? Will the current trust deficit between the public and state institutions be redeemed? If not, where is our country going?

Ramaphosa acted in his capacity as the President of the country. But he is also the president of the ANC. So, if this matter is not handled to the satisfaction of many South Africans, what impact will that have on the ANC as an organisation – both in the 2026 Local Government Election (LGE) and the subsequent 2029 general election?

Another critical issue is the role of the coalition partners in parliament. Will they be bold enough and honest to put on the parliamentary agenda a debate on this issue, or will they keep quiet and continue enjoying their positions in the coalition even at the expense of the South African people?

What about the opposition political parties? Will they keep quiet under the guise that numbers are against them, or will they use proper parliamentary channels to hold the executive and the governing coalition to account? Sometimes it is better to try and fail than to fail to try. Our politicians must never forget that the electorate will always be watching silently when they act or fail to act when they should. Voters will vent their anger at the polls, then politicians will cry fowl and be “shocked” as if they did not see this coming.

People are entitled to their opinions on whether Mkhwanazi was right or wrong by convening the historic media briefing. But what cannot be repudiated is the fact that his address achieved several objectives – both planned and through serendipity. The nation is better informed now than it was before July 6, 2025.

In a nutshell, while it is true that Sec 84(2)(f) of our Constitution gives Ramaphosa the right to appoint Commissions of inquiry, this right should be informed by rationality. As a country, we cannot afford to appoint Commissions randomly against prevailing realities.

* Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.