By Molefe Seeletsa.
Caption: Soviet Lekganyane, the chairperson of the parliamentary ad hoc committee (Photo Credit: Parliament RSA).
Political parties represented on Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi remain divided over the future of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac).
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has reiterated its position that the anti-corruption body should be disbanded and replaced by an independent institution outside the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The issue surfaced on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, as the committee continued deliberations on its draft report into Mkhwanazi’s allegations of political interference, corruption and criminality within law enforcement structures.
DA calls for Idac to be scrapped
While considering the 790-page report, DA chief whip Glynnis Breytenbach rejected the suggestion that her party had proposed strengthening Idac’s independence and capacity.
“We think Idac should be closed down and that an independent anti-corruption commission should be appointed outside of the NPA,” Breytenbach said on Wednesday.
“We don’t think Idac should continue to exist,” she added.
Breytenbach said the DA instead wanted the NPA itself to have greater operational and financial independence.
“They should have control over their own budget.”
“They should no longer source their budget from the Department of Justice but should… negotiate the terms of their own budget directly with the [National] Treasury,” the DA official explained.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), however, opposed the idea of simply dissolving Idac.
EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys argued that corruption and institutional capture could affect any organisation, and that legislation and oversight mechanisms should instead be strengthened to prevent this from happening.
“We all had high hopes, and look what happened to it. I don’t know the issue with Idac; it had so much to do with it not having enough independence.”
“It was pretty much that it was captured, and it can happen to any entity that is existing,” Mathys said.
‘Nothing wrong with Idac’
EFF president Julius Malema also rejected calls to close the directorate.
“There’s nothing wrong with Idac. Idac was behaving in a manner it did because there was no structure playing an oversight over it, and therefore, it was a power unto itself,” he told MPs.
Malema highlighted the July 2026 appointment of retired judge Takalani Joseph Raulinga as Idac’s oversight judge, a position which was established to investigate complaints involving abuse of power, improper conduct, maladministration and related matters within the directorate.
He argued that the absence of effective oversight had contributed to problems within the institution.
“The problem is not the institution. The problem is the individuals occupying it, along with the lack of early detection mechanisms to hold them immediately accountable.”
ANC MP Mdumiseni Ntuli shared a similar view, saying problems within the directorate should be addressed without eliminating the institution itself.
“There was something fundamentally wrong with the incumbents, and the best way to deal with that situation will not be to close the entire institution, but to deal with the elements that are within,” Ntuli said.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which has tabled a bill for Idac to be disbanded, took the opposite position, backing the DA’s call.
MK party MP David Skosana insisted that the institution was unnecessary and should not continue operating. Idac, I must re-emphasise once again, must close,” Skosana said, adding that “We can do without Idac.”
Idac under scrutiny
Idac has faced intense scrutiny over its handling of investigations involving Crime Intelligence officials, including the matter concerning the appointment of Dineo Mokwele, which was subsequently permanently withdrawn.
Questions surrounding the directorate intensified during proceedings at the Madlanga commission, leading to former Idac head Andrea Johnson’s resignation.
Several investigators have also faced disciplinary action.
Idac investigators Dylan Perumal, Brian Padayachee and Suneel Bellochun have been suspended pending investigations.
The developments have coincided with changes at the top of the directorate. Earlier this month, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara was appointed acting head of Idac.