Mkhwanazi vs Mchunu: Human Rights Commission calls for immediate inquiry
Image: BRENDAN MAGAAR Independent Newspapers
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute a short-term commission of inquiry into allegations of involvement in criminality against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and high-ranking officials.
This is after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi shocked the nation during a media briefing on Sunday, when he made claims of corruption, political interference in investigations, and involvement with drug cartels against Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Lt General Shadrack Sibiya.
Mkhwanazi said Sibiya was acting on the instructions of the Minister of Police to disband the police's political killings task team.
Both Mchunu and Sibiya have denied the allegations.
Mchunu said he would not 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 Mkhwanazi. He added that he will review the statements and consider appropriate action.
Sibiya said Mkhwanazi must stop behaving like a criminal and behave like a disciplined member of the police. 'Tell him to stop threatening people and talking about violence there. He must stop behaving like a warlord. He's a member of the police,' Sibiya told the SABC.
Chris Nissen, Chairperson of the SAHRC, said that the allegations levelled by Mkhwanazi require immediate attention.
Nissen said South Africans cannot wait for the many months that the commission of inquiry usually takes; they need to know the truth as soon as possible because this concerns their safety, which is a human right.
'The President must set up a short span commission of inquiry which will wrap up all its work in a matter of weeks,' Nissen told eNCA.
At the centre of the controversy is the disbandment of the political killings task team, the freezing of posts for crime intelligence, which have left KZN with vacant positions, among others.
Mary de Haas, a KZN Violence Monitor, said Mkhwanazi's conduct is "completely unacceptable".
'His conduct is posing a serious danger to security because he has been going out of his way to build up a good public image, and people are going to be angry about it and believe him. It's a dangerous move, but don't forget that the people he is supporting are facing serious criminal charges. I'm told there are others lined up, and yet he is taking the side of people who are under suspicion for committing serious crimes.
'It is completely out of order and against all protocols to publicly speak out about a minister, and it is dangerous, and I hope he will immediately face the consequences for it,' De Haas said.
gcwalisile.khanyile@inl.co.za
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
an hour ago
- The South African
All eyes on MaMkhize: Construction mafia, SARS officer 'hit', and more
Controversial businesswoman Shauwn Mhize – also known as MaMkhize – has been thrust into the spotlight once again following a damning report by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. And many South Africans are 'connecting the dots' about the flamboyant woman's sketchy past, which includes bribery, corruption, and tax evasion. Some are even calling out the reality TV star and former PSL club boss for being allegedly linked to the assassination attempt of a SARS official, who had been investigating her case. On Monday, 7 July, MaMkhize topped the X trends list after KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkwanazi and Police Portfolio Committee chairperson linked her relations to alleged corrupt businessman Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala and Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, who has been accused of having ties to the underworld. Here's a look behind the headlines… 'Construction mafia' In August last year, MaMkhize – the CEO of the Zikhulise Group, which deals in the construction, cleaning, maintenance, and transport sectors – confessed to 'collaborating with construction mafia'. Speaking to the SABC from a Women in Construction event in Durban, she said: 'As much as there are construction mafias, it is very important to collaborate. I've been in the industry for more than 20 years, with the construction mafia involved. 'But what I do is I sit down [with them]. It's a cry for help. You need to understand what they need, and you collaborate. I've done it. I've built quite a lot of people that are coming from construction mafias, which I call business forums'. She continued: 'They've never given me problems. We must look at them as enemies. We must listen, hear them out, and meet each other halfway. That's how I've done it'. Hit on SARS official? A year ago, MaMkhize's name trended in relation to an assassination attempt on a SARS advocate assigned to a R37 million investigation into her companies. In a statement, SARS revealed that Coreth Naudé was shot three times in her car after she arrived at her hotel in Umhlanga, Durban. Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the shooting was a deliberate assassination attempt on their official, who had been investigating high-profile cases. According to EWN, this included MaMkhize's unpaid taxes saga. THAT Carte Blanche interview A few months earlier, MaMhize appeared in an interview with Carte Blanche , which she later stormed out of. The businesswoman was questioned about benefiting from over R1 billion in government tenders over a period of 20 years. However, MaMkhize denied that any of her business had materialised from her political connections, particularly from her late mom, Florence Mkhize, an ANC stalwart. She said, 'Why can't people look at me as a young black woman who has worked very hard, who has pushed boundaries and opened doors?' She added: 'I will never entertain the noise of the world. I live in my own world with my own rules'. When asked why she had evaded tax amid a luxurious lifestyle, the 49-year-old seemingly became defensive. 'Tax matters are personal. I don't have to divulge what my problems were'. Last year, MaMkhize was slapped with a R37 million tax bill relating to her business empire. As a result, SARS filed a court application to seize 13 high-end vehicles owned by Shandi Trust and Royal AM football club, of which the reality TV star holds a majority stake. The cars have since been auctioned off. The publication added that MaMkhize was also ordered to pay R12 million in her personal capacity to SARS. MaMkhize has been linked to alleged ties with criminally accused Vusimusi Cat Matlala and Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu. Images via X During a police raid of her La Lucia home last year, law enforcement uncovered a cache of licensed firearms and ammunition, allegedly belonging to tenderpreneur Vusi 'Cat' Matlala. In 2012, IOL reported that MaMkhize faced 119 counts of tax fraud, amounting to up to R5 million, for submitting fake invoices. She later blamed the oversight on her bookkeeper, Kishal Reddy, who pleaded guilty while she pleaded not guilty. According to Mail & Guardian , she was also charged with corruption for allegedly trying to persuade a state witness in one of her tax fraud cases to tamper with evidence. All charges were later withdrawn, and Shauwn walked out of the court as a free woman. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Mail & Guardian
3 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Mbalula confident Mchunu would respond to Mkhwanazi's allegation
ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula. (X) ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said he was confident Police Minister 'I'm fully confident that he will engage with the leadership of the ANC on the disparaging allegations that have been made. He owes it to the ANC; he doesn't have to be commanded,' Mbalula said at a media briefing on Monday. He spoke a day after Mkhwanazi said at a media Mkhwanazi said on Sunday that Mchunu had ordered the closure of the team formed in 2018 to investigate politically motivated murders in On Monday, Mbalula said Mchunu would brief ANC officials 'as a deployee' of the party. 'But at the end of the day, where action must be taken is in government, it's not in the ANC. And the ANC would like to see action,' Mbalula said. On Sunday, Mchunu accused Mkhwanazi of making 'wild allegations' that required 'an urgent, thorough and transparent investigation, on a proper platform'. 'The minister of police will never allow his integrity, that of the ministry or the SAPS [South African Police Service] at large, to be undermined by insinuations made without evidence or due processes, from anyone, including Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi,' the police minister said. 'We will be reviewing the provincial commissioner's statements and consider appropriate action.' Mbalula said the issues raised by Mkhwanazi must be attended to, and the facts established. He said the party would not defend Mchunu or any of its members implicated in wrongdoing. 'This thing that we are complicit in as a party to the protection of wrongdoing, maybe it happened in the past. At the present moment we're carrying out our renewal project,' Mbalula said. 'We have said that even if you are members of the ANC and you are arrested, you are on the wrong side of the law, you are accused of corruption, you step aside. We are without our former secretary general [Ace Magashule] in the party because we had to put him on a step aside.' The ANC's step-aside rule stipulates that members charged with criminal offences must relinquish their positions until they are cleared of the charges. Mbalula said some South Africans had already decided that Mchunu was guilty, but he still had to tell his side of the story. He added that the country's fight against crime had taken a turn for the better since Mchunu became police minister last year. 'We have been praising the minister and Mkhwanazi [for their performances in their jobs], then, boom, there is a problem between the minister and generals. None of us would say we know.' Mbalula said the issues Mkhwanazi had raised required serious attention and President Cyril Ramaphosa had committed to getting to the bottom of the allegations
The Citizen
5 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘ANC is on the side of the truth': Party calls for urgent action on police interference allegations
'The ANC is on the side of the truth, and that's what is important,' says Mbalula. ANC Secretary General, Fikile Mbalula during the ANC media briefing on matters of national interest at Chief Albert Luthuli House on 30 April 2025 in Johannesburg, South Gallo Images/Fani Mahuntsi The African National Congress (ANC) says it takes the recent allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, seriously. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was speaking during a media briefing on Monday afternoon on the state of education and key national interventions in South Africa. This comes after Mkhwanazi made allegations on Sunday during a media briefing, accusing senior police leadership, including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, of interfering in investigations into politically motivated killings. 'Allegations touch on integrity of criminal justice system' Mbalula said the allegations strike at the heart of the criminal justice system and the state's constitutional duty to protect all South Africans. 'We call upon President Cyril Ramaphosa to act with the seriousness and urgency this matter demands,' he said. ALSO READ: Mkhwanazi knows the risk of speaking out, says police committee chair 'The ANC reaffirms its commitment to accountability, non-interference in law enforcement, and the full protection of whistleblowers, investigators, and officers of the law.' On Sunday, ANC Youth League President Collen Malatji criticised Mkhwanazi for pursuing populism instead of following legal channels. Malatji further rebuked Mkhwanazi for stepping into the political arena. ANC is not criticising Mkhwanazi – Mbalula However, Mbalula said the party had not criticised him, so there was no basis to criticise Mkhwanazi. 'We don't know what he is talking about. Because if you criticise a police officer without information from Luthuli House and tomorrow it is proven wrong, you are proven to be on the wrong side and the top cop is on the right side,' he said. ALSO READ: Mkhwanazi vs Mchunu: 5 things you need to know about their explosive feud The secretary-general reiterated that the ANC takes the allegations seriously and urged authorities to investigate them. He also supported President Cyril Ramaphosa's call for patience while addressing the matter. 'The ANC is on the side of the truth, and that's what is important,' Mbalula said. On Sunday, Ramaphosa expressed serious concern over Mkhwanazi's public statements, calling the matter a 'grave national security concern'. Ramaphosa calls for discipline and restraint 'All parties to this matter are called upon to exercise discipline and restraint. The trading of accusations and counter-accusations threatens to undermine public confidence and sow confusion. Furthermore, these actions damage the unity and focus of the police,' the Presidency said. Ramaphosa will announce steps to be taken once he returns from the Brics leaders' summit in Brazil. ALSO READ: MK party wants Mchunu arrested amid explosive allegations During the briefing, Mbalula criticised sections of the media for what he described as 'unethical behaviour'. 'The ANC is gravely concerned by the growing pattern of what can only be described as captured journalism, a disturbing phenomenon where certain journalists are no longer reporting the news but are actively involved in shaping political agendas, settling scores, and waging battles on behalf of those they align with or represent,' he said. The secretary-general said this is not journalism; it is 'political warfare' waged under the banner of the Fourth Estate. 'Political warfare' The party has called on the Press Council, South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef), media ombuds institutions, journalism schools, and editors' forums to act decisively to confront this. 'To be clear, we are not at war with the media. We are at war with misinformation and disinformation, with the manipulation of facts, and with the systematic erosion of journalistic ethics that undermines the public's right to know and distorts democratic discourse,' Mbalula said. ALSO READ: Mkhwanazi vs Mchunu: Police operations continue amid explosive allegations
