By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal Justice System, continued with its work, as parts of the inquiry will now be held in-camera to protect witness identities and safeguard ongoing investigations.
Evidence leaders brought an application for certain testimony to be delivered exclusively before commissioners and evidence leaders.
However, two media houses argued that closing the hearings to the public would undermine transparency and harm the integrity of the commission’s work.
On Tuesday morning, 14 October, the commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga announced that the next witness will testify remotely. Their identity will remain confidential, and their evidence will be relayed through an intermediary.
This means the commission will hold the hearings scheduled for 14 to 17 October “in camera” — in other words, closed off to the public.
This situation will also apply to the testimony of one of the witnesses due to testify between Monday 20 October and Wednesday 22 October.
Two further witnesses between this period will also testify remotely and off camera, but their evidence will not be heard through an intermediary. Instead, their own voices will be heard and broadcast live.
For the time being, the only matter that the two parties have not agreed upon is what the situation will be with regards to a witness who is due to testify on Thursday 16 October and Friday 17 October “on matters which relate to ongoing criminal investigations”.
However the commission encountered technical challenges during the session, which compromised the safety of Witness X, prompting an emergency halt to live testimony.
“We ran into technical difficulties that had the potential of endangering the safety of Witness X,” the commission confirmed in an official statement.
Due to these security threats, the commission abruptly suspended live testimony, with the evidence leader instead reading Witness X’s full statement into the record.
This alternative approach unexpectedly sped up the day’s proceedings, but raised critical questions about transparency and protection.
Witness X was set to provide damning testimony implicating senior officials in SAPS in wide-ranging corruption allegations.
The shift in format signals just how high-risk and sensitive the witness’s revelations may be.
Despite the sudden change, the commission insists that witness protection remains the highest priority.
The commission is expected to resume on Thursday at 9:30am, when Madlanga will issue a formal ruling on whether Witness X’s further testimony will proceed behind closed doors or not.
The inquiry continues to investigate alleged political interference, criminality, and corruption within South Africa’s criminal justice system, issues seen as central to restoring public trust in law enforcement institutions.
To date, five witnesses have testified before the commission, including SAPS intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo; KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi; National police commissioner Fannie Masemola; and Petronella Margaretha van Rooyen, head of legal services in the police.
KZN Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Elaine Harrison, has also given her evidence.
Most of the witnesses have corroborated one another’s evidence, confirming that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) exceeded his mandate.
Meanwhile the magistrate Vusimuzi Mahlangu, presiding over the case against Khumalo has recused himself after being subpoenaed by the commission.
Khumalo and his co-accused appeared before the Pretoria Regional Court on Tuesday, but Mahlangu indicated he could not preside over the matter as he had been subpoenaed to testify before commission.
The case has been rolled over to Wednesday to allow a new magistrate to be appointed.
The accused face charges of fraud and corruption. These charges relate to the appointment of 30-year-old Dineo Mokwele last year as a brigadier for a highly specialised division within Crime Intelligence, responsible for national covert operations.