It was another disappointing so-called family meeting from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Firstl the president was more than 30 minutes late from the scheduled time. Frankly the president’s inability to keep to his schedule is concerning as this is not the first time he has been late to address the nation. The president then proceeds to give a brief address, only on the Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi matter without any room for questions from the journalists, another Ramaphosa trait of a president who speaks and is not questioned.
The address must have lasted anything between 10 and 15 minutes at most, which honestly could have been made in a media statement rather than a national address. However, considering that the president’s main aim was to announce a commission of inquiry, he most likely would have had to pronounce this publicly through an address.
Ramaphosa, as predicted by many South Africans, has decided to have yet another judicial commission of inquiry, this time into the allegations by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mkhwanazi. The commission will be chaired by acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, picked by Ramaphosa. The commission will be tasked with uncovering any wrongdoing in the police and other public offices and report back to the president at three-month intervals and should operate for 3-6 months.
We know the history of commissions of inquiry and the inability of prosecuting authorities to bring named corrupt political and non-political actors to book. The immediate reaction of disappointment and deflation expressed by South Africans on social media after the national address is warranted.
Not suspending or dismissing the minister entirely shows Ramaphosa is not convinced of wrongdoing and is buying his comrade time, leaving the door open for him to return.
The question is, what happens to evidence, enablers and brazen criminals in the next six months? Does this not buy the syndicates time to reorganise their operations, eliminate witnesses and loose ends, cover tracks and evolve into an even deeper and harder to uncover mafia state monster?
The president kicked off his speech by stating how deeply concerning and urgent this matter is, but his call to action is contrary to this notion. The reaction is vague, lacks urgency and does not enable law enforcement, namely the police, to address alarming issues raised by Mkhwanazi.
What will happen to the disbanded task teams and the retained dockets with links to political killings and organised criminal activity? Why give the well-organised criminal underworld time to cover their tracks and not launch a full-scale investigation led by the Hawks and establish a special court to quickly and openly try criminal cases related to this level of crime and corruption?
The president has also placed minister Senzo Mchunu on leave of absence with immediate effect, again as expected, as it was reported that Mchunu had requested special leave and it seems Ramaphosa approved this request. Not suspending or dismissing the minister entirely shows Ramaphosa is not convinced of wrongdoing and is buying his comrade time, leaving the door open for him to return.
In the meantime, Prof Firoz Cachalia from Wits University has been appointed the acting minister of police from August 1. With all due respect to Prof Cachalia, who has always been an active participant in the development of democracy in one way or another, it must be asked: what about deputy minister Shela Polly Boshielo? Why couldn’t the ministerial responsibilities fallto the deputy minister during the six months of the commission? Is it a trust issue? Perhaps the president felt that someone from outside the environment will act without fear of favour?
The long and the short of it is that the president has done nothing to address the eroded public trust. If he thinks another commission of inquiry that will yield little to no results is an adequate response, then we clearly have a leader who has fallen asleep at the wheel and is completely detached from the reality, feelings and aspirations of everyday South Africans blighted by crime and who want to see meaningful change and not just another political gloss-over, with ever increasing crime statistics.
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