Political interference claims rock police and judiciary
Publish date: 07 July 2025
Issue Number: 1133
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: South Africa
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to intervene following explosive allegations of political interference and corruption by the Police Minister, senior police officers, certain prosecutors and members of the judiciary linked to crime syndicates, notes Legalbrief. On Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused national Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of interfering in investigations and having ulterior motives in disbanding the Political Killings Task Team. Mkhwanazi also claimed that 121 case dockets under investigation were removed from the task team’s purview following a directive to disband the unit. He asserted that this order came from Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, Deputy National Police Commissioner for Crime Detection, acting on instructions from Mchunu. The Star reports that Mkhwanazi also appeared to be defending his boss, Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and the senior officers recently arrested in terms of a recent Crime Intelligence racket bust. News24 reports that he claimed that Mchunu had connections to criminal networks and corrupt police officers, accusing him of associating with Brown Mogotsi, allegedly linked with crime-accused businessman Vusimusi Matlala. Mkhwanazi alleged that he had become a target after his team provided support to Gauteng police during a significant drug bust that exposed a syndicate implicating members of the criminal justice system and high-profile politicians. Ramaphosa, who is attending a Brics summit in Brazil, said the matter was a grave national security concern and would receive the highest priority attention. ‘It is vital that the integrity of the country’s security services is safeguarded and that the rule of law is affirmed,’ he said. ‘All parties to this matter are called upon to exercise discipline and restraint.'
The briefing included explosive revelations such as WhatsApp messages and screenshots allegedly sourced from the phone of Matlala, showing communication between Matlala, Mchunu and a politically connected intermediary, Brown Mogotsi. The chats suggest knowledge of the task team’s disbandment before it was made public, direct discussions of ‘solutions; to investigations and apparent financial support for political campaigns and 8 January African National Congress events. Matlala was arrested by the task team in May and faces charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and money laundering. Less than two weeks later, the Investigative Directorate Against Corruption moved to seize the task team’s exhibits, including Matlala’s cellphone, and arrested the team’s project co-ordinator. One of the syndicate suspects arrested by the team, Katiso Molefe, was granted bail. The effect, Mkhwanazi said on Sunday, had been chilling, with the Gauteng investigations into organised crime ‘compromised’ and confidence in the state’s willingness to prosecute politically connected suspects further eroded. Opposition parties have reacted swiftly, demanding an immediate probe into the claims. The Economic Freedom Front (EFF) said the briefing laid bare ‘the existence of a powerful, organised criminal syndicate operating at the highest levels of the South African state’.
The EFF urged the chairperson on Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, to convene an urgent portfolio committee sitting for a briefing from Mchunu. Cameron said the Democratic Alliance had written to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza for an urgent debate in Parliament on corruption within the police. ‘These disturbing allegations of corruption, political interference and malfeasance at the very top of South Africa’s law enforcement and national security infrastructure must be investigated immediately,’ said Cameron. ‘The President of the republic, who is presently away, must also immediately respond to allegations against a Cabinet Minister.’ Build One South Africa said it was ‘disturbed by the string of weighty revelations. According to the DM, of particular concern is Mkhwanazi’s claim that the task team appointed to investigate police killings was deliberately sabotaged from within the police. If true, this fundamentally undermines the integrity of our criminal justice institutions and threatens public safety. ‘His allegations implicate senior police officials, prosecutors, judges, members of Parliament and members of the executive in acts that sabotage law enforcement and enable political killings. These are the symptoms of a state in capture crisis, where criminal syndicates and corrupt politicians allegedly operate with impunity.’
Yesterday, Mchunu stated that although he had not watched Mkhwanazi’s media briefing, he had been made aware of the claims and would carefully consider them. He dismissed the allegations as ‘wild’. ‘The Minister of Police will never allow his integrity, that of the Ministry or the SAPS at large to be undermined by insinuations made without evidence or due process, from anyone, including Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi,’ said the spokesperson. ‘We will be reviewing the provincial Commissioner’s statements and considering appropriate action. All these statements made by him in public require an urgent, thorough and transparent investigation, on a proper platform,’ said Mchunu’s spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi. News24 reports that she said the Minister was committed to upholding the rule of law, ensuring accountability within the SAPS, and serving South Africans with integrity. ‘The Minister remains focused on reducing the high murder rate, curbing the proliferation of illegal firearms, combatting drug trafficking and syndicates and addressing gender-based violence and femicide across the country. Specific attention is being given to the four provinces with the highest crime levels: KZN, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape,’ she said.
News24 notes that Sibiya emphatically denied the allegations and challenged Mkhwanazi to share evidence with the media. ‘This matter just came to my attention now, and I have not been made aware of all the details. I will certainly respond after I have had an opportunity to ascertain the facts and in accordance with the relevant regulations and protocols. As a disciplined member of the SAPS, I will not follow the path chosen by General Mkhwanazi,’ he said.
Experts have warned that the explosive revelations signal a deepening crisis within law enforcement that could open more doors for criminals to infiltrate the police, reports TimesLIVE. They believe his claims expose how internal divisions among senior police officials, particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), have emboldened criminal syndicates to penetrate the police further. During the briefing, Mkhwanazi was dressed in the combat uniform of the special task force unit and surrounded by heavily armed officers of the elite cop unit. Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan has raised questions about Mkhwanazi's motive after the explosive claims. ‘Is Mkhwanazi planning a coup? Why did he intentionally dress like this and surround himself with guns, unless he was trying to send out a clear message intended to intimidate?’ O’Sullivan asked. According to a criminal law expert from the University of South Africa, Dr Mpho Matlala, Mkhwanazi’s return to military-style camouflage and his visible protection by elite units such as the Special Task Force and Tactical Intervention teams suggest he views the threat to his life as imminent.
He said there is no doubt contract assassinations are on the cards for Gauteng and KZN and that organised crime is about to wreak havoc. Matlala said the revelations mean that criminal actors have the upper hand, according to TimesLIVE. Matlala argues that by implication, criminal justice actors are turning South Africa into a banana republic. He argued as things stand, the criminal justice system has lost the moral authority to hold power in South African societies. ‘This is due to corruption, bad court judgments, poor prosecutions, poor investigations, bad attitudes towards members of the public, non-caring postures and so on… Perhaps it’s time the justice, prosecutions and police appoint boards of governors to oversee governance, in addition to professionalising the police by having a statutory body that licenses them, with powers to revoke the practice licences if justice permits,’ he added.
The Political Killings Task Team was formed after the 2018 assassination of ANC activist Musawenkosi Mchunu. Backed by a multi-agency Presidential Task Force and praised for its prosecution-led, intelligence-driven strategy, the team had, by 2025, investigated more than 600 politically related dockets, arrested 436 suspects, and recovered 156 firearms, with at least 55 of them linked to political crimes. The Daily Maverick reports that convictions to date total over 1 800 years in prison across more than 100 cases. On 31 December, Mchunu issued a letter to Masemola, requesting that the team be disbanded. Despite this instruction, Mkhwanazi said at the time he would continue the fight to ensure the task team was allowed to proceed with high-profile investigations.
