{"id":101819,"date":"2025-10-28T17:49:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=101819"},"modified":"2025-10-28T17:49:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T15:49:37","slug":"are-commissions-of-inquiry-losing-their-purpose-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/are-commissions-of-inquiry-losing-their-purpose-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Commissions of Inquiry Losing Their Purpose in South Africa?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read | 28 October 2025 | 13:05 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8Professor Sipho Seepe says South Africa\u2019s commissions of inquiry have drifted from truth-seeking to political theatre, serving as \u201cspaces of repentance rather than accountability.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

As South Africa launches yet another judicial inquiry – the Madlanga Commission<\/em> – questions are being raised about whether these costly commissions still serve their intended purpose.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe says the country has reached a point where \u201ccommissions of inquiry are appointed at the drop of a hat,\u201d often without delivering real accountability or justice. Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/em><\/a>, he warned that these inquiries have drifted from their original mandate and have become more about politics than truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommissions of inquiry play a very critical role in trying to find the causes of social strife,\u201d Seepe explained. \u201cThey are not meant to deal with criminality; that\u2019s the role of law enforcement. But over time, they have drifted away from fact-finding and become spaces of forgiveness rather than accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seepe pointed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission<\/em> as the starting point of this shift. \u201cHere you had people who committed crimes against humanity being told, \u2018You are forgiven if you tell us the truth.\u2019 That was the first deviation from what commissions are supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cautioned that commissions such as Zondo<\/em> and Madlanga<\/em> are increasingly seen as political tools rather than mechanisms of justice. \u201cInstead of punishing wrongdoers, these platforms have become places of repentance. People go there, confess, and walk away. The public sees this and begins to lose faith in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another major flaw, Seepe argues, lies in the fact that none of the commissions\u2019 recommendations are binding in law. \u201cThe evidence leaders may work hard and make strong recommendations, but there is nothing that compels government to act on them,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can accept or reject them, it\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if the Madlanga Commission<\/em> will be effective, Seepe was blunt. \u201cFrom the perspective of holding people accountable, it will be very ineffective. But politically, it will be effective it becomes another arena for comrades to fight each other. It\u2019s political bloodletting disguised as justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the inquiries have also become powerful propaganda tools. \u201cThey are now used to malign certain individuals while promoting others. The Zondo Commission, for instance, presented Ramaphosa as a saviour, yet corruption under his leadership has deepened,\u201d Seepe remarked.<\/p>\n

Seepe says these commissions, while necessary in principle, have lost their way. \u201cThey create angels and demons,\u201d he concluded. \u201cBut seldom do they deliver truth, justice, or closure for ordinary South Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Professor Sipho Seepe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 28 October 2025 | 13:05 CAT As South Africa launches yet another judicial inquiry – the Madlanga Commission – questions are being raised about whether these costly commissions still serve their intended purpose. Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe says the country has reached a point where \u201ccommissions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Commission-of-Inquiry.jpg?fit=356%2C343&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-quf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 10:20:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}