The Madlanga commission has until January 25 2027 to deliver its final report as per the extension granted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, he has granted the extension to allow the commission to process extra evidence, hear outstanding testimony, and review recommendations from various experts.
But exposing individuals implicated in corruption will achieve only so much if SA fails to confront the deeper structural problems undermining our criminal justice system.
If the commission is to help bring about lasting change, we must seek to understand why institutions entrusted with fighting crime are struggling to do their jobs.
Unless we identify the structural failures behind the problems being exposed, we risk introducing reforms that leave those weaknesses intact, effectively forcing us to continue fighting crime with one arm tied behind our back.
This means confronting three fundamental questions about how our criminal justice system is structured and whether it is equipped to fight crime efficiently:
1. Has SAPS become too centralised to police effectively?
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has developed a large national administrative structure, with too much operational decision-making seemingly concentrated at head office.
This raises serious concerns about how effectively its substantial budget is being spent, and whether an oversized administration is consuming resources that could be better directed towards frontline policing.
Meanwhile, many communities on the ground are faced with inadequate policing resources. Why should decisions about police vehicles, infrastructure, and other operational requirements depend so heavily on national structures when provincial leadership is better placed to understand local needs?
Every additional layer of bureaucracy risks slowing decisions and delaying the delivery of essential resources.
When a growing town needs another police station, local officials should have the authority to respond without navigating lengthy national approval processes.
The commission's findings should help establish whether SAPS needs to rethink how authority and resources are distributed.
National head office should focus on setting policing strategy and providing oversight.
Provincial structures should have greater control over operational decisions and resource allocation to meet local needs.
2. Are our criminal justice laws still fit for purpose?
South Africa's Criminal Procedure Act dates back to 1977. Although it has been amended repeatedly, we must ask whether its framework remains adequate for the demands of modern crime fighting.
I often compare it to a 1977 model car.
You can continue replacing individual parts, but eventually you must examine whether the vehicle itself is still fit for the road.
The question is whether decades of amendments have adequately addressed deficiencies in our criminal justice framework, particularly when it comes to the powers and responsibilities of different institutions and the safeguards needed to prevent their abuse.
The Madlanga commission's findings should help identify where existing laws and oversight arrangements may have enabled wrongdoing or failed to prevent it.
Where legislative shortcomings are revealed, we must be prepared to consider more fundamental reform rather than continuing to patch up an ageing framework.
3. Are criminal justice institutions structured to work together?
We must also examine how responsibilities are allocated between the institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting crime.
Are existing arrangements encouraging effective cooperation, or creating unnecessary duplication that places further pressure on already stretched resources?
The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), which operates within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), is a case in point. IDAC was established to both investigate and prosecute complex corruption cases, but does combining these functions within a prosecuting authority deliver the intended results? Are responsibilities sufficiently clear, and are resources being used effectively?
These questions deserve proper consideration. Increasing investigative capacity will achieve little if prosecutors and courts cannot effectively process the resulting cases.
Any reform must bear in mind how the different parts of the criminal justice system function together.
Ultimately, the Madlanga commission must be allowed to complete its work thoroughly.
It is too important a process to rush simply because citizens are eager for answers. Its final report should give government clear recommendations regarding where wider institutional and legislative reform is needed, and the evidence needed to make difficult decisions about the future of criminal justice in South Africa.
Otherwise, the conditions for the next scandal will remain firmly in place.
Dr Zizamele Cebekhulu-Makhaza, chair of the Safer South Africa Foundation
