The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and ActionSA have called for the immediate suspension of the Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu following KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s startling allegations.
Mkhwanazi held an explosive media briefing on Sunday morning, 6 July, about police operations in KwaZulu-Natal and the disbandment of the political killings task team, which was formed in May 2018.
In April, Mkhwanazi told EWN that Mchunu was likely influenced in writing a letter to the national commissioner in December 2024, requesting that the KZN political killings task team be disbanded. He believed probes by the task team into senior police officials are causing panic at the national head office.
WILL PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA SUSPEND SENZO MCHUNU?
During the media briefing on Sunday, Mkhwanazi revealed that the political killings task team has uncovered a syndicate including senior politicians, senior police officials, metro police, officials in correctional services, prosecutors, and other influential businesspeople that is controlled by a drug cartel in Gauteng and KZN.
Mkhwanazi also accused the minister of police of political interference in investigations.
Reacting to the allegations, the EFF said the briefing laid bare the existence of a powerful, organised crime syndicate operating at the highest levels of the South African state.
The party said the level of coordination, resourcing, and political protection confirms the EFF’s long-held view that the ANC-led government has become a breeding ground for a mafia state, where political office is used not to serve the people, but to shield criminals and extract public wealth.
“This was confirmed not so long ago by NPA’s National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, who highlighted the infiltration of the prosecuting authority, which made it impossible to prosecute cases effectively. Essentially, the ANC government, through individuals like Senzo Mchunu, has transformed the state into a haven for gangsters masquerading as leaders,” the party said.
URGENT DEBATE ON THE DEEPENING CRISIS WITHIN SAPS
Meanwhile, ActionSA has written to the Speaker of Parliament to request an urgent debate on the deepening crisis within the South African Police Service and the broader criminal justice system, following explosive Mkhwanazi’s allegations.
“The Commissioner’s unprecedented claims, pointing to widespread criminal infiltration and corruption at the highest levels of the SAPS, including the Minister of Police, raises grave concerns about the integrity and functionality of the country’s law enforcement leadership, and more critically the troubling national security threat this poses,” the party said.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT KZN POLICE COMMISSIONER NHLANHLA MKHWANAZI’S BOMBSHELLS ABOUT SENZO MCHUNU?
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