Daily Maverick Associate editor, Ranjeni Munusamy says that witnesses realised the African National Congress (ANC) had no formal investigation process in place during their internal state capture probe.
Munusamy says that sources who offered testimony lamented a lack of structure to the investigations.
This comes after ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe announced the party would drop its internal probe due to lack of submitted evidence.
You just go there and have a chat. At that point, these people realised that the Secretary-General doesn't really have any investigative powers.. to summon people or access state documents.
— Ranjeni Munusamy, Associate editor at the Daily Maverick
Mantashe said that only one person was willing to make a written submission, out of just 8 people who came forward.
Munusamy believes that it does not make sense for written submissions to hold greater weight over verbal statements or any other evidence.
She says that if the ruling party wanted to, it could have made a greater effort to help witnesses lay formal charges.
Instead, she says they have shown that it is no longer their problem.
Listen to the full conversation from The Midday Report with Stephen Grootes: