Mkhwanazi makes explosive claims of political interference
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has made serious claims of political interference in some of the high-profile criminal cases the cops are working on.
Mkhwanazi briefed the media on the work of the political killings task team in Durban on Sunday.
He questioned Police Minister Senzo Mchunu's role in dissolving the task team, saying it was making great strides in the battle against organised crime.
Mkwanazi said in March that Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, apparently acting on instructions from the minister, took control of 121 case dockets linked to political killings.
“This was done without the instructions of the national commissioner, nor I, as the provincial commissioner. These dockets have, since March, been sitting at the head office, without work being done on them,” said Mkhwanazi.
“Five of these dockets had already instructions to arrest perpetrators, but nothing has been done because a lieutenant general, Sibiya, executing the instructions of the minister, withdrew all these dockets and is sitting in his office in Pretoria. God knows why.”
Mkhwanazi also accused some MPs, metro police members, Department of Correctional Services officials and the South African Police Service of being involved in organised crime.
He said this was discovered when the Gauteng Organised Crime Investigating Unit requested assistance from KZN to dismantle a criminal syndicate headquartered in the province.
“I, as the provincial commissioner, took the decision to deploy ten members from the political killing task team to go support this investigating unit in Gauteng.
“I can tell you now as South Africans that this decision was the cause of the disbandment letter of this team because they overstepped the mandate on focusing only in KZN.”
Mkwanazi also claimed that an alleged associate of the minister, Brown Mogotsi, admitted that there was a plot to charge him.
Mkwanazi says Mogotsi presented classified documents to which only members of SAPS had access.
“Mogotsi also sent a screenshot of a presentation that was made on the 24th of September 2024. It was titled 2024/25 Division Crime Intelligence Policies. Surely this was classified information where crime intelligence was presenting their policies? This man had access to this, and he is not a policeman.
“On the 5th of March, the South African Police Service appeared before the (parliamentary) Portfolio Committee and a presentation was made by the provincial commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal with the allegations of the association of the minister, Brown Mogotsi. And the minister denied those allegations on record.”
However, Mkwanazi said there was evidence that the minister admitted to knowing Mogotsi as “his comrade in the North West”.
Mkwanazi questioned Mchunu’s instructions to disband the political killings task team in KZN, saying the team had done great work in the province.
“Even in Parliament, we say we do not know the minister’s reason to disband the team because the team’s work speaks for itself. On a frequent basis, the previous ministers used to brief the media on the work that the team is doing. Now this new administration has not done that, and we see a letter suddenly asking for a disbandment. ”
In an interview with the SABC, Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya denied allegations levelled against him by Mkhwanazi, saying he is prepared to take the matter to court.
"What Lieutenant General Mkwanazi is doing is embarrassing,” Sibiya told the public broadcaster.
“There are procedures to follow when you feel like you are not being heard. But we will not stoop to his level. All I can say is I will prove, word for word, that what he said is not true."
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