President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola to establish a special investigations task team to urgently investigate a number of officers implicated in the country’s law enforcement scandal. The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has found that allegations of criminality and wrongdoing against five police officers and nine current or former Ekurhuleni metro officials are so serious that immediate investigations and action are necessary. And President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered that a special investigations task team be set up to look into them.
Among the implicated officers are suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police chief Julius Mkhwanazi and the national head of the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) organised crime unit, Richard Shibiri. On Thursday, 29 January 2026, the Presidencyissued a statementon measures that Ramaphosa is implementing in response to interim findings from the Madlanga Commission. These point to potential criminal charges and suspensions that, if applied, will affect the national police as well as the Ekurhuleni municipality.
A section of the Presidency’s Thursday statement said: “President Ramaphosa… welcomes the referrals by the Commission of matters for immediate criminal investigation and urgent decisions on prosecution, as well as recommendations on the employment status and recommended suspension of individuals.” The establishment of the Madlanga Commission, fully known as the Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, was announced on 13 July 2025. Its hearings began two months later, in September, and several witnesses, including high-ranking police officers, have testified since then. President@CyrilRamaphosawelcomes the Madlanga Commission Interim Reportpic.twitter.com/wHKahtNIoT The commission is investigating accusations that were initially made a week before its establishment was announced. This was when KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi held a press conference and alleged a drug cartel had infiltrated South Africa’s criminal justice system, politics and private security.
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