Now for State Capture: Episode 2

One of the most worrying aspects of the state capture affair and the subsequent widespread looting within government has been the subverting of the criminal justice system to allow those involved in the corruption to escape accountability.

It happened in the police and its supposedly elite investigative units, as well as in the various entities in the prosecutorial system.

Thank goodness SA’s judiciary has remained untouched by this creeping coup d’etat.

In the case of the police, the deliberate distortion of its mission of maintaining law and order and ensuring justice, went hand in glove with an almost precipitous decline in professionalism across most ranks in the service.

As a result, public confidence in the police is probably the worst it has yet been.

Now, it seems as though the ANC is determined to implement a secretive “jobs-for-pals” scheme in the police by promoting incompetent, unqualified and inexperienced officers to senior posts, simply because of their alleged role in the “liberation struggle”.

Under the guise of redress, these former members of the Non-Statutory Forces (NSF) – those who fought against apartheid in the armed wings of liberation movements – are being fast-tracked simply because of their political allegiance.

The Institute for Security Studies, which first highlighted the scandal, said police management was trying to keep details of the plan secret … and for good reason.

It is 25 years since the end of apartheid and almost two decades since the integration of NSF into the military. There is no need for this affirmative action at this late stage.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that this scheme is aimed at cementing ANC control over all the levers of power in the state and insulating its leaders from accountability.

We hope we are not seeing State Capture: Episode Two.