Lt-General Mkhwanazi set to testify first at Madlanga Commission

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KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will be the first witness to testify at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.

The hearings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System – known as the Madlanga Commission – are expected to commence next week.

The commission, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, was initially scheduled to begin hearings at the beginning of this month, but was postponed due to delays in the procurement of vital ICT infrastructure.

Investigations into Mkhwanazi’s allegations

“Since President Cyril Ramaphosa formally proclaimed the [commission] by way of government gazette…we’ve made significant progress in establishing the commission, while simultaneously conducting investigations into the allegations made by [KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner] Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and we’ve also been consulting witnesses.

“The commission’s senior team…are seized with preparations for the commencement of the commission’s hearings next Wednesday,” Commission spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, told a media briefing on Monday.

The spokesperson assured that the challenges experienced which delayed the hearings are now resolved.

“Working together with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development [DJCOD], which has the legal mandate in assisting commissions of inquiry in setting up, we have taken delivery of most of the physical and ICT infrastructure.

“Most of our staff have now been trained on the systems and they have conducted tests to ensure that the hardware and software are fit for purpose, which indeed they are. 

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“The ICT systems which have been procured include a cybersecurity solution, a secure internet connection and a live streaming service, as well as transcription and stenography services, amongst others.

“In addition, we have onboarded a confidential reporting hotline for receiving reports from the public. The hotline consists of a number of platforms, including a telephone line where members of the public can confidentially talk to an operator and offer the commission information related to the terms of reference,” Michaels said.

Article sourced: SAgovNews