Experts have called for urgent SAPS reform, warning that weak integrity controls and failures in ethical leadership have damaged decision-making at the highest levels of the police service.

The concerns were raised during an Institute for Security Studies webinar on Tuesday, 21 July 2026. The discussion examined problems exposed by the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s inquiry into alleged corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.

Ethical Leadership Placed at Centre of SAPS Crisis

Ian Cameron, chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, said broken integrity testing had contributed to the wider problems facing the criminal justice system.

“At the core of this whole mess that we’re in is a story of broken integrity testing,” Cameron said during the webinar, according to IOL. He also argued that senior officers, potentially from brigadier or major-general level upwards, should undergo formal ethical or integrity assessments.

Professor Ivin Kinnes, from the University of Cape Town’s Centre of Criminology, described ethical leadership as essential for an institution with significant authority over the public.

Kinnes said allegations linking members of senior SAPS leadership to criminal figures represented a severe institutional crisis. He called for sustained police reform aimed at restoring ethical standards and public trust.

Meanwhile, Gareth Newham, special adviser in the Ministry of Police, said existing systems had allowed people with questionable integrity to reach powerful positions.

“What we are seeing in the SAPS at the moment is the root cause of the many systemic challenges the organisation faces,” Newham said.

Madlanga Commission Increases Pressure for Reform

The Madlanga Commission was established following allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on 6 July 2025.

Its official terms of reference require it to investigate whether criminal syndicates infiltrated or influenced SAPS, metropolitan police departments, the National Prosecuting Authority, the State Security Agency and other criminal justice institutions.

The commission may also recommend criminal investigations, prosecutions, disciplinary measures and institutional reform. Therefore, its findings could play an important role in shaping future SAPS reform and senior leadership appointments.

The ISS said the commission’s findings were due on 16 November 2026, while Parliament’s related ad hoc committee was expected to conclude its work by 31 July 2026.

Operational weaknesses have also added to concerns. During oversight visits in Cape Town in May 2026, Cameron reported that almost 40% of the Khayelitsha police station’s fleet was unavailable. He also found that its specialised family violence unit had 21 officials against an identified requirement of 43.

Experts Propose Changes to Senior Appointments

Kinnes proposed that affected senior positions should be advertised again and that applicants should undergo strict vetting, integrity checks and lifestyle audits.

He also proposed preventing people named in the Madlanga Commission from reapplying for their posts. However, being named before a commission does not by itself establish criminal guilt or misconduct.

Newham argued that accountability alone would not be enough. He said reforms must strengthen structures across SAPS, the NPA, metropolitan police departments and the wider criminal justice system.

Previous ISS research has similarly argued that SAPS leaders must take primary responsibility for tackling police corruption. It recommended proactive risk assessments, stronger internal anti-corruption capacity and rigorous vetting of senior officers.

SAPS had not issued a specific public response to the webinar proposals by the time of publication.