Prosecutor Drushantha Ramsamy accused her former boss, Advocate Andrea Johnson, of lying at the Madlanga Commission.
SOUTH Africa has seen this pattern before. Whenever a major public scandal unfolds, it is not long before the conversation drifts from facts to identity, from accountability to race.
The danger is that once this happens, the pursuit of truth becomes clouded by prejudice, and institutions that should unite the country instead become battlegrounds for racial suspicion. That is why the racial undertones beginning to surround the Madlanga Commission should concern every South African.
Recent claims by some commentators and sections of society that an "Indian faction" sought to influence the work of IDAC represent a troubling departure from the principles upon which our constitutional democracy is built. Whether these assertions arise from political rhetoric, public frustration or genuine suspicion, they should be treated with extreme caution.
They risk transforming a legitimate investigation into institutional conduct into an exercise in collective blame.
