Madlanga Commission highlights need for police reform in South Africa

Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has called for urgent reforms within the SAPS following the revelations from the ongoing Madlanga Commission. His statements during an oversight of festive season operations in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday emphasise the importance of introspection and action in addressing the challenges facing law enforcement in the country.

Cachalia, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, and Deputy National Commissioners were hosted by KZN Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The visit commenced with a multidisciplinary parade in Durban before proceeding to a roadblock at the Mariannhill Toll Plaza. 

The Madlanga Commission is looking into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the criminal justice system.

“The picture that emerges from the Madlanga Commission about policing in South Africa is important because it’s going to tell us a story that is perhaps difficult to absorb and to accept that there are areas of reform that need attention, that we need to improve the capabilities, the efficiency and the accountability of the South African Police Service,” Cachalia said, addressing attendees, mainly police. 

He said the commission serves as a vital inquiry into the necessary steps for improving safety and security in the coming decades, building on the achievements of the last 30 years. 

“There’s a lot that needs to be improved on. But we are not starting from scratch, and we are not in a crisis,” Cachalia said. 

He said that his job, working together with the National Commissioner, the provincial commissioners, the entire leadership and police officers is to work steadily, progressively in a positive direction to improve safety and security in the country, because they need to understand that safety and security is a core concern of the people and must be at the centre of the country’s priorities going forward. 

“So what emerges from the Madlanga Commission is going to provide us with an opportunity to focus on those questions, including questions about how to improve the resourcing of our police service,” Cachalia said. 

Speaking to the media, Cachalia said he is concerned about some of the commission’s evidence. While some is untested, the commission has already reached preliminary conclusions, and there is an interim report.

“The evidence that has been led does suggest a pattern that is worrying. And I’ve been concerned that the rank and file police officer watching television, listening to this evidence that is being led that’s going to have an impact on their morale. Which is one reason why I spoke about this matter today,” Cachalia said. 

“I want the public to understand that the South African Police Service is not in a crisis. I want the members of the South African Police Service, the rank and file, to understand that we have a lot of work to do. We have a lot that is wrong that we have to put right. We have to map a reform agenda for the next decades to come.”

The Minister emphasised that the commission should be seen as an opportunity. 

“Had we not had statements that were made in public that required the president to act… Then, the information that we need in order to understand the depth of the problem and what a reset agenda should look like, that information would not have been available. The commission is going to help with the reset process,” Cachalia said. 

He said that one of the issues he is sure the commission will focus on is how the relationship between the person who exercises executive authority and those who run the police service, who manage the police service from the national commissioner downwards. 

“Presumably, they will make some recommendations in that regard. They will probably make recommendations on crime intelligence. If we’re going to deal with organised crime more effectively and that’s something that really does keep me up at night. Then we’ve got to strengthen crime intelligence,” he said. 

In conclusion, Cachalia said the commission will cast a light on the dark places as it should. He added that those people who have been responsible for infiltration, for corrupting the police service, for misusing political authority, must be held accountable. 

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za