UPDATE: The Madlanga commission – or more properly, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into criminality, political interference, and corruption in the Criminal Justice System – has announced that the scheduled start of hearings on 1 September will be delayed, because of procurement issues.
The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Court justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Afrobarometer’s flagship report for 2025 is now available. Focusing on the topic of citizen engagement in democratic processes, it is titled Citizen engagement, citizen power: Africans claim the promise of democracy, and highlights the various ways in which citizens in 39 African countries make their voices heard. “Despite the daily challenges of surviving and thriving faced by many Africans, the vast majority are finding multiple opportunities to engage.”
Slain whistle-blower Babita Deokaran knew the truth – and she paid the ultimate price for her knowledge. In his new book The Shadow State, investigative journalist Jeff Wicks delves deep into the circumstances surrounding Deokaran’s murder, showing the intricate web of shell companies, inflated prices, and collusive bidding linked to the Gauteng Department of Health. To date no officials have been held accountable, and her family is denied justice.
The UN General Assembly, during its 59th session held in July 2025, confirmed what Corruption Watch and many other organisations and individuals around the world already know – that corruption and the violation of fundamental human rights are inextricably linked. The UN Human Rights Council adopted, by consensus, a resolution titled The negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights and called on governments to take steps to tackle the situation.
Defendants in Namibia’s largest ever corruption case have again escaped answering for their crimes, writes Richard Messick for the Global Anticorruption Blog. The long-awaited trial has been delayed numerous times because at every opportunity, the accused have turned rules meant to ensure criminal trials are fairly conducted into weapons for postponing theirs.
A culture of bribery is destroying South Africa’s soul, turning integrity into a commodity and honour into myth, writes Kekeletso Nakeli in this heartfelt opinion piece. In essence, she says, we are teaching our children that credibility can be bought. “We have fostered a corrupt society; it is evident that the brown envelope culture comes from the corridors of power.”
Earlier this month the Constitutional Court rule found the appointment process of five commissioners to the Commission for Gender Equality, undertaken in 2022, invalid as it offered inadequate public participation. The court ordered the process to be re-run within 12 months. Accordingly, Parliament’s portfolio committee on women, youth and persons with disabilities plans to start a new appointment process in September.
“Corruption has been a serious challenge in the broader border management ecosystem,” said Border Management Authority commissioner Michael Masiapato during the organisation’s recent quarterly performance briefing.
Corruption Watch welcomes the unanimous Constitutional Court judgment in its favour, handed down today in its challenge to the National Assembly’s 2023 appointment of five commissioners to the Commission for Gender Equality. The court found the legislature to have failed in its constitutional duty to facilitate reasonable and meaningful public participation in the appointment process, declared the appointments invalid, and ordered the process to be run again.