Fallout over justice inquiry delay

The commission's chair says it will almost certainly not be able to produce its first interim report within three months as stipulated by the president

- Mandisa Nyathi

The delayed start of the inquiry into corruption in the criminal justice system has seen disciplinary proceedings against the justice department's director general and the suspension of the deputy director general of information and technology.

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi’s announcement came hours after the inquiry’s chairperson, retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, told a media briefing that the hearings, scheduled to begin on 1 September, would be postponed indefinitely because the department had failed to provide the necessary infrastructure.

Madlanga said the commission had been ready to proceed but procurement processes had collapsed.

“Unfortunately, those commitments have not been met. As a result, it has since become clear that the commission will not be able to start the hearings as scheduled,” he said, adding that the delay would almost certainly undermine President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive that the inquiry produce its first interim report within three months.

“What is most regrettable is that a substantial portion of the three-month period ... has gone by without the commission having heard a single witness. This is not of the commission’s making,” Madlanga said.