Ad hoc committee to ignore Madlanga evidence in report — for now

Parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system has made it clear that it will not use any evidence from the Madlanga commission of inquiry to formulate its report.

The committee met virtually on Monday to evaluate its draft report before presenting it to the National Assembly. This follows a fifth deadline extension, which pushed the submission date to September 11.

During the session, members reviewed witness testimony alongside party submissions on the evidence presented so far. Chair Soviet Lekganyane cautioned MPs against referencing any testimony from the Madlanga commission, which is running a parallel inquiry into the same issue.

While the Madlanga commission has drawn on the ad hoc committee’s records, transcripts, and information to cross-examine witnesses, Lekganyane said the parliamentary committee has neither requested documents nor collaborated with the commission regarding its evidence.

“What we should do is restrict ourselves to what we have gathered,” Lekganyane said.

However, he added that the committee could still request information from the commission later, if necessary, though members must rely strictly on their existing material for now.

“Maybe at the end, when we send out the report to the witnesses... because we cannot pretend to be oblivious to what is happening or what has happened at the commission.

“In case there are witnesses who have to respond to certain information that appeared at the commission, and there’s a need for the committee to request shared documents, the committee can always arrive at whatever decision it feels necessary. But for now, we have not requested any information from the commission. Let’s deal with what we have.”

The Madlanga commission has previously used testimonies from the ad hoc committee to draw contradictions from the witness’s evidence.

Testimony given to parliament by former Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) head advocate Andrea Johnson was directly contrasted with subsequent evidence presented to the Madlanga commission, where evidence leaders pointed out contradictions between her parliamentary statements and records before the inquiry.

Additionally, MK Party MP Vusi Shongwe, who serves on the committee, appeared before the Madlanga commission as a witness, where he testified that he was offered a bribe to stop probing suspended crime intelligence officer Maj-Gen Feroz Khan — a figure whom the parliamentary committee had previously agreed to drop from its witness list.

Notably, several witnesses who have appeared before the ad hoc committee have also given testimony before the Madlanga commission.

Once all inputs are integrated into the draft report, it will be shared with implicated parties for their submissions. Following that process, the committee will formally adopt the report and submit it to the National Assembly.

The committee agreed that while its final report may make findings on governance and institutional failures, it cannot determine criminal guilt or innocence.

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