South Africans have long suspected corruption and political interference were at work in the police force but in the past few months allegations appearing to confirm this have been aired in two public inquiries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently digesting the contents of an interim report from a commission he established to investigate illegality within the police.
It was set up after senior police officer Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged in July that organised crime groups had infiltrated the government.
His dramatic intervention led to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu being put on special leave.
Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi, who heads up the police in KwaZulu-Natal province, claimed that Mchunu had ties to crime kingpins and this was why he shut down an elite unit investigating political murders.
Mchunu, a senior member of Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) and a close ally of the president, has denied any wrongdoing.
But to investigate the allegations, Ramaphosa asked retired Constitutional Court judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga to head up a public inquiry. Parliament in Cape Town set up its own panel to investigate the matter.
As I see it now, this is terrorism, Gen Mkhwanazi said appearing as the Madlanga Commission's first witness in September.
These are people who want to take over government, not through the ballot paper but through these criminal activities.
In the three months of testimony from the parallel inquiries, South Africans have heard about an alleged drug cartel with political connections and a businessman, who is awaiting trial for attempted murder, with alleged ties to leading government figures. A witness at the Madlanga Commission was also murdered after giving evidence.
Among the most explosive evidence was the testimony given by police crime intelligence boss Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo.
Appearing before the Madlanga Commission within the first month of hearings, Lt-Gen Khumalo alleged there was a drug trafficking cartel, headed by individuals who he called the Big Five, operating in several provinces, which had penetrated the political sphere.
He named two figures from the five alleged leaders of this criminal gang, one of them being controversial businessman Vusimusi Cat Matlala.
Mr Matlala is currently facing 25 criminal charges, among them attempted murder.
These stem from three separate incidents that occurred between 2022 and 2024. He has denied all the charges against him.
The crime intelligence boss claimed the Big Five led a network with widespread influence across the country.
This cartel had tentacles within the country's criminal justice system, and this allowed them to manipulate investigations, suppress evidence [and] obstruct legal proceedings that threaten their activities, Lt-Gen Khumalo added.
It was this grouping that was allegedly behind the disbandment of the political killings task team (PKTT) since they mistakenly thought the PKTT was investigating them.
Central to the allegations against the suspended police minister is his alleged close relationship with Cat Matlala.
At the Madlanga Commission, Mkhwanazi repeated claims he had made at a press conference in July that Mchunu was indirectly receiving financial support from the businessman to fund his political endeavours.
During his appearance at the Madlanga Commission Mchunu refuted the allegations saying that he had never been accused of corruption, not once.
However, the inquiry has taken a dark turn with the murder of a key witness, Marius van der Merwe, shortly after he testified, raising further questions about the safety and integrity of the investigation.
As the investigation progresses, South Africans await the final report of the Madlanga Commission, expected to outline the depth of corruption and propose solutions to restore faith in law enforcement.
