Legal Showdown: Parliament's Options for Probing Police Corruption

The Trilemma

Parliamentary legal services outlined three options for investigating Mkhwanazi's allegations:

• Judicial Commission Route: Leverage President Ramaphosa's existing inquiry (risks duplication)
• Ad Hoc Committee: Create dedicated investigative body (would strip oversight from standing committees)
• Joint Committee Action: Current committees collaborate using existing powers (may lack specialized focus).

Low-Hanging Fruit

Legal advisor Thando Tjana identified immediate issues committees could address without formal inquiry:

• Status of Political Killings Task Team (121 case dockets)
• Crime Intelligence vacancies nationwide
• Police/NDPP jurisdictional conflicts

Separation of Powers

Tjana cautioned against overreach: 'We must remember parliamentary oversight means influence not command. We cannot become an investigative body without violating constitutional boundaries.'