Fighting corruption without losing our freedoms

I CONFESS that I have not been following the drama of the live-streamed hearings on TV about the claims made by Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi.

- ASHLEY GREEN-THOMPSON

For those not in the know, the KwaZulu-Natal police chief made explosive public allegations claiming the existence of a sophisticated criminal syndicate that has allegedly infiltrated law enforcement and intelligence structures in South Africa.

The president appointed a commission of enquiry to explore the allegations and Parliament set up an ad hoc committee to do the same. I caught a bit of the testimony of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, the other day and it made me nervous.

The ad hoc committee’s brief is to investigate the veracity, extent and implications of the allegations made in July, including the evidence of collusion between any state officials and criminal syndicates.

Governed as it is by parliamentary rules, the committee proceedings enjoy the protection of parliamentary privilege. Members and apparently witnesses too, cannot be sued or held liable for what they say within those proceedings — they are protected from being charged or for damages that might arise from their actions in the committee.