The FW de Klerk Foundation has submitted formal comments on the Draft Independent Police Investigative Directorate Regulations, 2025, welcoming public consultation, but warning that key provisions threaten IPID’s independence.

“The Constitution requires an independent complaints body to investigate allegations of police misconduct or crime by a police officer,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and Manager of the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme. “This independence must be real, visible and safeguarded in law.”

The draft regulations allow investigators to be dismissed for redundancy and leave the Executive Director’s salary to political discretion. “If investigators can be removed because their roles are deemed ‘surplus,’ the public cannot trust IPID to hold powerful actors to account,” Ellerbeck notes. “Similarly, when the Executive Director’s pay depends on politicians, it creates pressure points for political influence. That undermines public confidence in policing oversight.”

To address these risks, the Foundation urges two straightforward reforms: first, remove “redundancy” as a permissible ground for dismissing investigators; and second, fix the Executive Director’s salary in law so that leadership is insulated from political interference.

“These straightforward, workable reforms will strengthen IPID’s independence and uphold the Constitution’s promise of impartial oversight,” concludes Ellerbeck.