Madlanga Commission seeks in-camera hearings

The evidence leaders of the Madlanga Commission are requesting that in-camera hearings take place for the remainder of the current week.

In an application presented to Commission Chair, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and his co-commissioners, the evidence leaders argued that a temporary closed session would allow the Commission to receive vital evidence without jeopardising parallel criminal proceedings.

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The evidence leaders alluded to the next witness as someone who was part of the Gauteng Counterintelligence Operations Team and was instrumental in the arrests of Vusumuzi "Cat" Matlala and Katiso "KT" Molefe.

In their application, the evidence leaders claimed that certain evidence to be presented by the next witness would refer to internal operational strategies used by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the disclosure of investigative techniques.
These techniques, such as intelligence-gathering, surveillance methods, and analytical tools, would risk revealing how SAPS detects and disrupts criminal activity.

They claim that revealing these techniques "would equip criminal networks with the knowledge needed to evade law-enforcement scrutiny." The application further noted that some of the evidence relies on information provided by confidential informants and sources whose identities must remain secret.

The evidence leaders are requesting that testimony be conducted in a closed session for the rest of the week.

They also requested a partiallyclosed session with only the voice of the witness broadcast to be granted for two days next week.