Elements of criminality have deeply infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice system, leaving ordinary citizens at the mercy of corrupt state functionaries manipulated by powerful crime syndicates.

This sobering assessment was made by Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, in a statement issued on Thursday (17 September), a year after its first hearings began following its establishment by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2025. “With the revelations that are coming out we trust that justice will be served,” he said.

System compromised

The former Constitutional Court justice did not mince his words about the evidence laid bare before the commission: a criminal justice system populated by what he described as “malleable, corrupt state functionaries” who have allowed criminals wielding improper influence to evade accountability, in some cases for years.

He said such revelations were “commendable”, as a necessary prelude to corrective criminal-justice action, stemming a long-standing tide that has the effect of compromising a fundamental constitutional principle — the separation of powers.
“With such a criminal justice system those criminals who exert undue, improper influence on state functionaries will rarely, if ever, answer for their criminal deeds. [One has to] ask rhetorically, over the years how many such criminals have escaped facing criminal charges and sanctions?”

Syndicate exposed

The commission was established by the President after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had made a series of explosive allegations about an alleged criminal syndicate whose tentacles had spread into law-enforcement agencies, the National Prosecuting Authority and intelligence services. Mkhwanazi was the first witness to testify before the commission.

Troubling trends

Madlanga cautioned that the commission had yet to assess all evidence before making definitive determinations in its final report, but said the trends already emerging were deeply troubling.
“Unfortunately, what is emerging from the evidence is that there are indications of serious criminality within the criminal justice system,” he said “and this is the result of the infiltration of, and undue influence on, the criminal justice system by elements of criminality.”
Pointing to tangible consequences, Madlanga noted that a number of officials within the criminal justice system had already been criminally charged, with some dismissed from their employment and others facing disciplinary charges, developments that leant credence to the indications before the commission.
“The fact that a number of players within the criminal justice system have been charged criminally, with some dismissed from their employment and others facing disciplinary charges, lends credence to these indications,” he said.

Looking ahead

The commission chair expressed hope that the inquiry’s work would yield concrete mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the apparent criminality now surfacing.
“We trust that in the end this process will yield results that will play a meaningful role towards putting in place mechanisms that will help significantly towards curbing a recurrence of apparent criminality of the nature that is emerging before the commission,” Madlanga said.

Public support

He also paid tribute to the widespread public support the commission has attracted, saying the overwhelming response had not gone unnoticed.
“So far, a number of people and institutions have supported the commission process. I will thank them all when this process concludes. Suffice to say we are grateful to them all. The overwhelming public support for the commission process is not going unnoticed. For that too we are truly grateful.”