Madlanga probe 'prevented repeat of July unrest

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to establish the Madlanga Commission was necessary to prevent a repeat of the July 2021 unrest.

- HOPE NTANZI

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula. | Supplied

He warned that ignoring the serious allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi could have led to widespread instability.

Speaking at the ANC’s Mpumalanga Provincial General Council, Mbalula dismissed criticism that the president should have acted directly instead of instituting a commission of inquiry.

He made it clear that the ANC collectively, through its National Executive Committee (NEC), had endorsed the commission and that the support did not stem from the president acting unilaterally.

“We went to the NEC, everybody supported the establishment of the commission. There’s nobody who said there in the NEC we are opposed,” said Mbalula. "The ANC supports the establishment of the Madlanga Commission.”