The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Thursday adjourned its public hearings to allow an unnamed witness to testify in camera, citing the need to protect the integrity of ongoing police investigations.
Evidence leader Mathew Chaskalson told the commission that the witness’s testimony related to cases still under active investigation, and revealing details publicly could jeopardise the work of law enforcement.
“As explained in the application and submissions made earlier this week, the witness testifying today is going to speak about matters that are the subject of active, ongoing police investigations,” Chaskalson said.
He emphasised that the decision to hold proceedings behind closed doors was not to conceal the witness’s identity but to safeguard sensitive information.
“It’s the subject matter of the evidence, not the identity of the witness, that requires the evidence to be in camera. When police investigations are at an advanced stage, one cannot ventilate the content publicly without risking the integrity of those probes,” he said.
Chaskalson added that the commission intends to make the testimony public once the investigations have concluded and secrecy is no longer required.
“As soon as the need for secrecy has passed, the evidence will be made public,” he noted. “Independent Newspapers had earlier expressed opposition to the in-camera ruling and had sought to intervene in relation to next week’s proceedings.”
The Madlanga Commission, chaired by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is probing explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who claimed that criminal syndicates and cartels have infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Mkhwanazi has accused criminal networks of wielding influence over senior officials, including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who was placed on special leave by President Cyril Ramaphosa following the allegations.
Meanwhile, in Parliament, Mchunu this week made his first appearance before the ad hoc committee conducting a parallel inquiry into the same claims.
The in-camera testimony marks another sensitive development in a widening investigation that has shaken confidence in South Africa’s policing leadership and exposed alleged deep-rooted corruption within the justice system.