President Cyril Ramaphosa. (File photo)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on a leave of absence with immediate effect, following allegations that a criminal syndicate has infiltrated South Africa’s police services and intelligence agencies, including top police and prosecutorial structures.
In a nationally televised address on Sunday evening, Ramaphosa said the allegations made last week earlier by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanaz posed a grave threat to the rule of law and national security.
To address the claims, the president announced the establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry to be chaired by acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. The inquiry will investigate what Ramaphosa called “the infiltration of law enforcement, intelligence and associated institutions within the criminal justice system by criminal syndicates.”
“The allegations made in this media briefing raise serious concerns around the Constitution, the rule of law and national security,” Ramaphosa said.
“These allegations, if proven true, threaten to undermine the confidence of South Africans in the ability of the South African Police Service to protect them and to effectively fight crime and corruption.”
Mkhwanazi alleged that Mchunu interfered in ongoing investigations and conspired with politically connected businesspeople, including a murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, to disband the Political Killings Task Team in KwaZulu-Natal.
He added that a Gauteng-based investigation had unearthed a drug cartel-linked syndicate with tentacles reaching into the police, metro police, correctional services, judiciary, and the prosecuting authority.
Ramaphosa described the allegations as “extraordinary in their scope,” suggesting that organised crime may be operating with support — or at least passive consent — from officials sworn to uphold the law.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa said he had appointed Professor Firoz Cachalia, chairperson of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council and a former Gauteng MEC for community safety, as acting minister of police. Cachalia, who is set to retire from his current position at the University of the Witwatersrand at the end of July, will assume office in August. An interim appointment will be made from within the cabinet in the meantime.
The president emphasised that the inquiry would be independent and would have full authority to compel testimony and access evidence. It will be empowered to refer matters for immediate criminal investigation and recommend suspensions where officials are implicated.
The commission, supported by advocates Sesi Baloyi and Sandile Khumalo, is expected to deliver interim reports at three and six-month intervals. A final report will be submitted to the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Chief Justice.
Ramaphosa said the inquiry will assess the roles of current and former senior officials across a range of institutions, including the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority, the State Security Agency, the judiciary, and the metropolitan police departments of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane.
The commission will also examine whether members of the national executive responsible for the criminal justice system aided or abetted criminal activity.
“In establishing this commission of inquiry, we are affirming our commitment to the rule of law, to transparency and accountability, and to building a South Africa in which all people are safe and secure,” the President said.
The development comes amid growing public concern about the state’s ability to confront high levels of violent crime, corruption, and the influence of organised criminal networks. Recent years have seen the resurgence of politically motivated killings, extortion by construction mafias, and rising levels of gang and drug-related violence.
Madlanga’s appointment comes shortly before his scheduled retirement from the Constitutional Court at the end of July, which Ramaphosa said would enable him to dedicate himself fully to the inquiry’s work.
The President confirmed that Mchunu had agreed to fully cooperate with the inquiry.
The inquiry is expected to become one of the most significant institutional probes since the Zondo Commission into state capture, with the potential to reshape the public’s understanding of corruption within the state’s security.
While some have welcomed the establishment of the commission, several political parties criticised it as costly and ineffective.
GOOD secretary general Brett Herron said the move, though well-intentioned, was “too slow, too cumbersome, and too costly,” adding that commissions cannot replace criminal investigations, citing the Zondo Commission as an example.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James said Ramaphosa’s delayed response amounted to “kicking the can down the road,” and criticised the decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on a “paid holiday” while serious allegations of police infiltration remain unresolved.
