PRETORIA, Gauteng — A severe systemic failure within the South African Police Service has been laid bare at the Madlanga Commission, where the deepening SAPS vetting crisis took center stage. Shocking revelations regarding the near-total collapse of mandatory lifestyle audits for top police brass have sparked outrage, prompting urgent demands for the immediate dismissal of unvetted officers.
Testifying before the inquiry, World Bank anti-corruption specialist Albertus Schoeman presented a damning report on the state of internal accountability. He revealed that a mere five lifestyle audits have been conducted on senior SAPS leadership over the past half-decade. Even more alarming is the finding that zero senior officers were referred for lifestyle investigations between 2021 and 2024. Furthermore, out of the 823 senior managers in the police service, only five were subjected to investigations last year—all of whom were ultimately cleared.
South African Police Union (SAPU) Deputy National Spokesperson Jabu Mabena expressed profound dismay at the statistics, arguing that the current framework is fundamentally compromised. He stressed that any officer currently operating without a valid security clearance must be removed from their position immediately.
According to Mabena, the Crime Intelligence division houses a specialized unit tasked with vetting, a process that inherently includes lifestyle audits. By design, the security clearances for senior officials are mandated to be renewed every five years. However, the sheer lack of execution over the last five years points to a system that is severely under-resourced and failing to function.
Mabena traced the root of the capacity shortage back to 2013, the last time the vetting unit received proper structural support. “Fast forward today, we remain with 25% of the 120-plus members that were recruited in 2013 to really make sure that this work is done properly,” he explained, illustrating a drastic depletion of specialized personnel over the last decade.
The implications of this breakdown extend across all ranks of the police service, not just the top brass. Mabena clarified that vetting is a statutory requirement under both the Police Act and the Protection of Information Act, applying to junior station-level members and senior commanders alike. Security clearances are tiered—ranging from confidential to secret, and finally to top secret, which is reserved for senior leadership.
During the commission’s proceedings, the vetting process was scrutinized through an HR lens regarding General Faron Khan, specifically examining declared assets like luxury vehicles and external business revenues. This scrutiny highlighted the danger of the process devolving into a superficial box-ticking exercise rather than a rigorous forensic investigation into unexplained wealth, luxury watches, and properties.
However, Mabena insisted that a genuine vetting process is highly invasive and thorough. “Vetting itself goes as far as interrogating even your bank statements,” he noted. The investigation delves into an individual’s upbringing, requires the submission of childhood friends for interviews, and assesses overall financial health to determine susceptibility to corruption. It also tracks international border crossings and communication networks.
If a senior member handling sensitive information fails to secure or maintain their security clearance, Mabena stated they must be immediately stripped of their office duties. This rigorous filtering is the primary defense against criminals infiltrating the ranks to use their police privileges to perpetuate illegal activities.
The failure to vet also compromises sensitive case information at the ground level. Mabena pointed out that Investigating Officers (IOs) at local police stations are trained to handle sensitive documents in accordance with the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) manual. Without a robust, continuously updated vetting system to ensure the integrity of the officers handling this data, the police service risks entirely losing its focus on its constitutional mandate to protect the public.