The Madlanga Commission enters its final week of public hearings with suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu set to testify on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, in what is expected to be one of the inquiry’s most closely watched sessions.
Livestreamed proceedings will see commissioners test his version of events against evidence already given by senior police officers, municipal officials and controversial businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.
According to a statement from the Madlanga Commission, this week’s sittings will run until Friday, 5 December, when public hearings for 2025 formally conclude as the panel works towards submitting an interim report to President Cyril Ramaphosa by 17 December.
The commission says preparations are under way to finalise outstanding evidence ahead of the December deadline.
What’s on the Madlanga Commission agenda this week?
The headline item is Mchunu’s appearance on Tuesday, where he is expected to respond to allegations that political directives from his office destabilised key policing units and influenced decisions around the disbandment of specialised teams.
Commissioners are also due to hear from former Ekurhuleni city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi and suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi, with additional witnesses expected before Friday as the commission closes off critical sections of its interim findings.
Mchunu’s testimony comes after weeks of evidence from witnesses including KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Matlala, who have linked ministerial decisions and local power struggles to the handling of political killings dockets, police procurement and blue-lights contracts.
The former minister will be asked to account for those claims and explain the chain of instructions issued from his office.
What Imogen Mashazi told the Madlanga Commission
On Monday, the commission heard from Dr Imogen Mashazi, former city manager of Ekurhuleni, over allegations that municipal officials helped shield senior metro police figures from accountability in matters involving Matlala’s companies and the city’s metro police department.
Mashazi denied trying to whitewash investigations into suspended EMPD deputy chief Brigadier Mkhwanazi, including over the so-called “blue lights” scandal involving vehicles and a helicopter linked to Matlala’s businesses.
She told the Madlanga Commission that any memoranda of agreement signed between Mkhwanazi and Matlala were “irregular” and that the deputy chief had acted beyond his authority.
She acknowledged seeing unsigned versions of the agreements during the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) probe and conceded that the IPID-recommended disciplinary process “should have proceeded”.
Having previously dismissed parts of the IPID report as “vague”, Mashazi said that after reviewing the full evidence bundle she realised there was “some truth” to the allegations and described the misuse of blue-light vehicles as “unlawful and irregular”.
Mashazi further distanced herself from attempts within the city administration to undermine IPID’s findings, criticising a 6 December 2023 letter sent to the watchdog that tried to justify registering Matlala-linked vehicles as municipal cars.
She told the commission the letter’s tone was inappropriate and that officials responsible for it should face disciplinary action.
Why Mchunu’s evidence at the Madlanga Commission matters
For the commission, Mchunu’s appearance is central to understanding how national policy decisions intersected with local policing battles and private business interests.
Previous witnesses have painted a picture of blurred lines between SAPS command structures, metro police powers and politically connected service providers, with Matlala’s name recurring in evidence about vehicle “donations”, procurement disputes and alleged attempts to influence investigations.
Tuesday’s session will allow commissioners to put those claims directly to the suspended minister, test his explanation against documentary evidence and witness testimony, and clarify the role his office played in decisions that reshaped key policing units.
The answers he gives – and any contradictions the panel identifies – will feed into the interim report due to reach the president by mid-December.
How to watch the Madlanga Commission live
The Madlanga Commission will sit in Pretoria throughout the week, with proceedings streamed live.
Readers are advised to refresh this page shortly before the commission resumes to load the stream correctly.
