Africa (Commonwealth Union) _ In a stunning reversal that has rocked South Africa‘s security establishment, KwaZulu-Natal police boss Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has openly accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of interfering in key investigations and colluding with criminal syndicates.
Speaking in a surprise press conference on Sunday, Mkhwanazi blamed the pair for disbanding a specialized crime-busting unit probing politically motivated killings in KwaZulu-Natal once they saw that criminal syndicates, including drug cartels, were involved.
“Some politicians, the police, SAPS officials, metro cops, prison bosses, prosecutors, and judges are controlled by drug cartels and entrepreneurs,” Mkhwanazi charged, insisting he has proof to back explosive allegations he refused to release.
The charges, the first of their kind in post-apartheid South Africa, ignited a national outcry. While corruption is endemic within the SAPS, public infighting among the top brass is unprecedented and potentially destabilizing.
Minister Mchunu has described the allegations as “baseless,” saying, “The Minister of Police will never allow his integrity, that of the Ministry or SAPS as an institution be compromised by unproven insinuations or processes.”
With President Cyril Ramaphosa already in Brazil attending the BRICS Leaders’ Summit, his office issued a statement promising to address the matter on his return with “the highest priority” as a “grave national security concern.”
The governing African National Congress (ANC) confirmed that it had considered the seriousness of the claims and was confident that Ramaphosa would act with urgency. In turn, the Institute for Security Studies, a non-partisan watchdog organization, suggested that a broad and open investigation is needed, and public trust in the police may erode further if the claims are not met with a full face.
South Africa, already struggling with one of the world’s highest crime rates, now must also deal with a new issue: regaining respect for a police service that is in internal disarray and accused of corruption at the highest levels.
