SAPS crisis: Faith-based body warns against enquiry becoming a 'waiting room for justice'

The South ​African Community of Faith-Based Fraternals (SACOFF) has announced a national day of prayer scheduled for next week as part of its action plan of “fighting for the soul of our nation” following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a judicial commission of enquiry into the damning allegations exposed by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.  

SACOFF, an umbrella body of 225 organisations representing 19,998 churches across the country headquartered in Centurion, welcomed Ramaphosa’s setting up of the commission of inquiry into the grave allegations implicating Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and others in the police and the broader criminal justice system.

"This swift step signals the seriousness with which the president views the matter — and SACOFF affirms it as a necessary intervention to restore trust and integrity in the justice system," the organisation said in a statement. 

However, the organisation also called for “interim accountability”, and “full protection” and resourcing for the law-enforcement units and the “brave officials" that risk their lives daily  investigating political corruption, criminal syndicates, and unsolved political murders.

SACOFF’s president, Pastor Bert Pretorius, warned that the commission should not become a “waiting room for justice” and vowed that SACOFF would monitor its progress and public engagement.

“This Commission cannot become a waiting room for justice. It must be a war room for truth. We are fighting for the soul of our Nation. The church, the people, the nation are watching. We commend the president’s action — but the integrity of the process will be judged by results, not rhetoric,” said Pretorius.

The national prayer day will be on Wednesday, July 23, but the venue and other details have not been announced.

In the media statement SACOFF also highlighted a number of key points it wished to make about the commission:

• It welcomed the President’s “swift action”, recognising it as an “appropriate response” to the weight of the allegations. “The independence of the commission, under the leadership of Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is an encouraging sign”;

• It noted that historical commissions have failed the nation. “South Africa has poured nearly R2 billion into past commissions of inquiry — including the Zondo Commission (R1 billion), the Arms Deal Commission (R137 million), the Marikana Commission (R153 million), and the PIC/Nugent Commission. Despite many of these inquiries ‘delivering’ findings, very little action has been taken. The public’s trauma, especially after the Zondo Commission, has not healed, and cynicism has only deepened. These funds could have built hospitals, staffed rural clinics, equipped schools with toilets, and built churches that serve the people. Instead, they have too often served only to delay accountability”;

• The allegations by Mkhwanazi are “direct, public, and fact-based”. “If evidence exists, why have charges not already been filed? The Commission can follow — but justice must lead. Those implicated, including other high-ranking SAPS officials, must be placed on leave immediately, and all affected dockets referred to the independent Special Investigation Unit, free from political interference”;

• For more complex, sensitive and alleged allegations, the three- and six-month deadlines are “appropriate and necessary”. “However, interim accountability and protection mechanisms must be in place during this period”;

• The president must give “full protection and resourcing to law enforcement units that risk their lives daily in investigating political corruption, criminal syndicates, and unsolved political murders. These brave officials are national assets, not expendable voices”; and

• It strongly urged Ramaphosa to “guard against the commission becoming another symbolic exercise. It must bring corrupt officials across government, judiciary, and the security cluster to book. Anything less would be a betrayal of justice and public trust”.