‘No one will be shielded’: Ramaphosa vows no protection for those implicated in Madlanga commission

President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the State of the Nation Address in Cape Town on 12 February 2026. Picture: GCIS President Cyril Ramaphosa says no one implicated in the Madlanga commission of Inquiry into Alleged Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System will be shielded. Addressing the National Assembly (NA) during a question-and-answer session on Thursday, Ramaphosa said authorities will act accordingly when the commission submits its recommendations.

The president was responding to uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Des van Rooyen, who asked if he could assure the NA that none of the decisions to withhold the report or delay its publication are intended to protect politically connected individuals. “I can give assurance that no one who’s either implicated or will be implicated will be shielded,” Ramaphosa said. “And when the commission does its recommendations, we will act accordingly on those recommendations… No one, no big name or small name, or whoever, however they are connected, will be shielded.

Ramaphosa also reiterated that making the Madlanga commission’s interim report available to the public would be unfair for some of the witnesses. This was in response to a question by ANC MP Mdumiseni Ntuli, who asked what his reasons are for deciding to withhold the report from the public. The commission submitted the report on 17 December 2025.

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“Beyond the referrals and recommendations that I have made public, it would be unfair to witnesses whose testimony is not complete or individuals against whom the commission has not made prima facie findings to publicise information at this stage,” Ramaphosa said. “Furthermore, it may jeopardise investigations and lines of questioning of the commission to make unconcluded avenues of investigation public.” He said all of the commission’s reports will be made public once the final report is submitted.

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