KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of undermining high-profile investigations by ordering the disbandment of the South African Police Service’s specialised task team probing political killings. Speaking at a media briefing in Durban on 6 July, Mkhwanazi said Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, acting on the minister’s instruction, removed 121 case dockets from the unit in March; five of those files already contained warrants recommending arrests.
Mkhwanazi said the task team had investigated 212 politically linked murders since its creation in 2018 and was expanding its work to organised-crime syndicates operating outside KwaZulu-Natal when it was abruptly shut down. He alleged broader infiltration of the criminal-justice system by politicians, metro-police officers and correctional-services officials, claiming classified intelligence documents had surfaced outside official channels.
Sibiya rejected the accusations in an SABC interview, calling them “embarrassing” and saying he is prepared to challenge Mkhwanazi’s statements in court. The minister has not issued a formal response, but previously denied any role in the task-team decision during a parliamentary hearing.
The allegations have prompted calls for swift intervention. The Independent Policing Union of South Africa urged national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to reassure the public, while the chair of Parliament’s Police Portfolio Committee, Ian Cameron, praised Mkhwanazi’s “worthy risk” in exposing alleged interference. Opposition politicians, including Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana and the UDM’s Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, demanded an independent inquiry and urged Mchunu to step aside pending an investigation. ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji dismissed the outcry as premature, saying the claims do not yet warrant discussion by the party’s national executive committee.
[WATCH] "It remains an allegation for now... it does not warrant the ANC NEC to discuss the matter," - ANC's Mdu Manana reacts to KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's remarks on Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
#Newzroom405
[WATCH] United Democratic Movement (UDM) Deputy President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa has advised Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to step aside to allow authorities to conduct a preliminary investigation into various allegations made against him if he believes that he is innocent. Kwankwa
[WATCH] ANC Youth League President Collen Malatji reacts to KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's remarks implicating Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on political interference in investigations.
#Newzroom405
