Mkhwanazi: Crime Intelligence funds built wall at Mthethwa’s home

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told stunned Members of Parliament (MPs) that money from the Secret Service Account has been misused to build a perimeter wall around Mthethwa’s private homestead while he served as the Minister of Police in 2011.

Mkhwanazi added he believes that wall was built without Mthethwa’s knowledge or request.

"We are sitting today, the country is in mourning because we lost one of our ambassadors in France. But that ambassador was a Minister of Police.

"As you switch on the television and you look at the homestead of the former minister, you’re going to see a very big wall, a perimeter wall that was built by the money from Crime Intelligence. But nobody was held accountable for that and the reports are there."

The late minister, who was serving as South Africa’s Ambassador to France, died in Paris last week after reportedly falling from a 22nd-floor hotel window. 

Mthethwa’s body is expected to arrive in the country on Friday.

The government has confirmed that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is facilitating the repatriation of Mthethwa’s remains, while French authorities continue investigating the incident.

Mkhwanazi painted a disturbing picture of a rogue network within Crime Intelligence that has allegedly manipulated ministers, interfered with oversight bodies, and continued operating unchecked for more than a decade.

"It’s members from Crime Intelligence that took the money out of the Secret Fund Account to make that wall — so they could get control of the minister. Tomorrow they could loot that money on their own, and the minister couldn’t say anything," he told the Ad Hoc Committee.

Mkhwanazi said the rot extended to the office of the Inspector General of Intelligence and the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, accusing them of failing to act on numerous reports that highlighted abuse of the secret service account.

"Crime Intelligence has been doing a lot of bad things, and those things were brought to the attention of the Inspector General of Intelligence. Reports that were supposed to go to Parliament to hold people accountable never reached you."

Mkhwanazi alleges the corruption he is describing dates back to 2011 and continues today, with some of the same individuals still holding key positions in intelligence.

"If you were to ask me, I would say maybe we must close down Crime Intelligence and remove everyone that is there and start afresh, because I know names within Crime Intelligence that are bad. They were there in 2011, and they are still there today."

The KZN Police Commissioner linked the ongoing dysfunction to what he described as rogue officials manipulating executive authorities, including current Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who he claimed was 'made to sign a letter' by corrupt insiders.

"Minister Mchunu was made to sign a letter by rogue people within the organisation. They might have done something to him. They made him commit himself — and today he’s in trouble because of that."

Mkhwanazi warned MPs not to underestimate the scale of the manipulation, and hinted that more evidence will be brought forward.

"These things we’ve put in this statement are just the tip of the iceberg. Go to the media tomorrow, Honourable Members, and say things again — I’m going to come with another evidence."

ALSO READ