Advocate Vusi Pikoli and commission chair Justice Kate O'Regan at the preliminary hearing into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha.
When the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry into policing began issuing subpoenas for police evidence last year, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa approached the Western Cape High Court for an urgent interdict to halt proceedings.
The application, which was unsuccessful, was sought pending a decision on a final review application to set aside Western Cape Premier Helen Zille's appointment of the commission.
However, in a unanimous judgment handed down in October, the Constitutional Court refused to make an order declaring Zille's decision to establish the commission inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid.
This week, residents flocked to the community hall at the imposing Lookout Hill in Khayelitsha, which gives tourists a vantage point from which to see the sheer scale of the densely populated township.
Locals arrived to show their support for the commission by attending its preliminary sitting, which finally began on Wednesday after a year of court wrangling.
The preliminary sitting set dates for the handing over of evidence, but it remains to be seen whether the police will co-operate with the requests for documents the commission needs to complete its work.
A team led by advocate Norman Arendse, the chairperson of the General Council of the Bar of South Africa, is representing the South African Police Service. Most documents were scheduled to be handed in this week, but Arendse asked for an extension to file the police's written or sworn statements on or before December 9.
"As you might know, we have been engaging the evidence leaders on an informal basis in past weeks," he said. "Our problem has been that the nature of our brief, and indeed the level of participation in these proceedings, has just been clarified. Our client is committed to engagement in the process and full involvement."
After other legal figures objected to the length of the requested delay, Arendse agreed that some statements will be ready before that date and that he will indicate which witnesses the police intend to call.
After the sitting was informed that some police officers have come forward to give evidence, retired Constitutional Court Judge Kate O'Regan, who is chairing the commission, said the police's legal representatives will have to put it in writing that whistle-blowers will be given protection.
Documents also have to be exchanged timeously among the legal teams, she said.
"There should be no surprises for anyone, not for the evidence leaders or the counsel representing parties, and there will also be an opportunity once those statements are exchanged for the parties to indicate whether they want to cross-examine," said O'Regan.
"This is not the usual trial procedure. It is an investigative procedure and it is easier for us to plan. We expect to provide a very detailed hearing plan each week as to which witnesses will be led."
O'Regan is leading the commission with the former national director of public prosecutions, advocate Vusi Pikoli. It will investigate allegations of inefficiency at the three police stations in Khayelitsha, as well as an alleged breakdown in the relationship between the community and the police.
"If the commission finds that there are inefficiencies or a breakdown, our task is to make recommendations to remedy or alleviate that inefficiency or breakdown," said O'Regan at a briefing before the preliminary sitting.
"I really want to start by saying that the point of the commission, and the purpose of this commission, is that the people who live in Khayelitsha are entitled to a safe and secure environment, consistent with our Constitution. They are entitled under the Constitution to have allegations of inefficiency investigated. That is really why we are here. If we can be of any assistance in ensuring that those constitutional rights are protected, we would like to be. And that is really why advocate Pikoli and I agreed to participate."
Although there are only three police stations in Khayelitsha, about 750 000 people live in the township. Residents complain that police inaction has compelled them to take the law into their own hands, leading to vigilantism.
The Constitutional Court found that section 206(5) of the Constitution gives a province the power to establish a commission of inquiry into policing.
In the judgment handed down by Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, the court held that without coercive powers, the commission would be unable to fulfil its mandate.
"On 30 October 2012, the commission issued a subpoena to the provincial commissioner, requiring the production of certain evidence. The following day, subpoenas were issued to three station commanders," the judgment found.
"Within a week, the applicants brought an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court for an order restraining the commission from issuing and giving effect to the subpoenas, and directing it to suspend its activities pending a decision on the final review application to set aside the premier's decision to appoint the commission."
The judgment found that, in the absence of a challenge to the constitutionality of the provisions, the commission's subpoena powers were held to be "constitutionally compliant".
The Constitutional Court found that vigilante attacks in Khayelitsha have resulted in the deaths of at least nine people. "The supplementary complaint submitted to the premier reports on the vigilante deaths and should form a legitimate part of the inquiry into the breakdown in relations between the police and the community of Khayelitsha," it stated in its judgment.
The Constitutional Court dismissed the police's argument that the commission's terms of reference are too vague or broad. The judgment found that the premier is obliged to take reasonable steps to shield the residents of Khayelitsha from an unrelenting invasion of their fundamental rights as a result of the alleged police inefficiency.
O'Regan reiterated this week that it has been established that the commission was established lawfully.
"I should emphasise that, in the period that has elapsed between November 2012 and August 2013, the commission has continued working, taking statements and identifying relevant information to its terms of reference," she said.
O'Regan said the commission is not investigating civil or criminal liability. Its focus is on whether there has been police inefficiency and a breakdown in the relationship between police and the community, and it will not be investigating individual cases.
The commission had been encouraged by the response from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate and will continue to negotiate with the police, she said. "We are sincerely hoping that we will have a good, structured relationship with the South African Police Service."