South Africans are still reeling from Sunday’s jaw-dropping press conference by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Dressed in combat-ready wear and flanked by rifle-wielding officers, he accused the very institution he serves—the South African Police Service (SAPS)—of being infiltrated by criminal syndicates. 😳
The rot, he said, isn’t confined to low-level corruption: Police Minister Senzo Mchunu is allegedly implicated.
Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu tried to disband the Political Killings Task Team, a unit set up by Ramaphosa in 2018 to investigate political assassinations in KZN.
He linked Mchunu to Pretoria businessman Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who was arrested in May for the attempted murder of his ex, and exposed in a News24 investigation for his dodgy R360m tender deal with SAPS that has since been cancelled.
Mkhwanazi alleges the real reason Mchunu wanted to shut down the unit is because it was unmasking a syndicate operating within the state, with ties to politicians “currently serving in Parliament.”
Mchunu denies the claims, saying he doesn’t know Matlala and refers to another implicated figure and fixer, Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi, as “just a comrade”. Mkhwanazi said he has laid criminal charges against Mchunu and others involved.
The fallout has been massive. Parliament’s Speaker Thoko Didiza has tasked three committees to investigate, and the DA has filed its own charges against Mchunu for allegedly lying to Parliament about his relationship to Mogotsi.
Meanwhile, National Commissioner Fannie Masemola largely came out in Mkhwanazi’s corner. In a press briefing on Wednesday, he contradicted rumblings that Mkhwanazi was somehow in the wrong, saying he was aware that Mkhwanazi would be holding that briefing. He also reassured South Africans that the task team was still operational, as he had not signed a letter to disband the team. But this has led to further questions if he had indeed refused a directive from his boss, Mchunu, to disband the unit.
While the President is yet to act, calls are growing for him to fire Mchunu. Ramaphosa, who was attending the BRICS Summit at the time the allegations surfaced, has described it as a “matter of grave national security.”
Mkhwanazi’s bombshell has pulled back the curtain on how deep corruption runs in the criminal justice system. The public has rallied around him, with some even calling for him to take over as police minister or even start his own party.
Our take? Fix the structural rot in the system first. Read it here.
