PRETORIA - The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has kicked off with a firm warning that anyone who disrupts or obstructs its proceedings could face a fine or six months of imprisonment.
Evidence leader Advocate Terry Motau affirmed this earlier. He says the integrity of the investigation must be upheld without interference.
“According to Section 5 of the South African Commission Act, it stipulates that it is a criminal offence to obstruct the work of the commission of inquiry. This is an important aspect because it needs to be understood that the integrity of the investigations needs to proceed unhindered.”
“In this regard, the act makes it clear that whoever wilfully hinders or obstructs the commission and performance of its function shall be guilty of an offence,” he said.
The much-anticipated commission, probing alleged corruption, criminal infiltration, and political interference in the criminal justice system, began on Wednesday morning with KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi taking the stand as the first witness.
READ | Madlanga Commission | Mkhwanazi: Political interference, corruption paralysing SAPS
Mkhwanazi, who has been sworn in, previously claimed during a media briefing in July, that organised crime and corruption had infiltrated the police, implicating top police officials and government ministers in the mill.
Ahead of Mkhwanazi’s testimony, Motau explained that the commission presumes no particular outcome and will be impartial.
The inquiry continues.