Under the expert stewardship of justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the commission of inquiry established to probe explosive allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi earlier this year is proving money well spent.
Now on an 11-day break, the Madlanga commission has heard evidence that goes to the heart of Mkhwanazi’s claims of criminal syndicates having infiltrated law enforcement to clear the path for their nefarious activities.
For ordinary South Africans faced with the threat of violent crime on a daily basis, evidence-based claims of senior police officers and politicians colluding with criminals are frightening. They suggest that while the government has made fighting crime a priority, behind closed doors the truth is more complicated.
This week, but for only two days until he pleaded illness, head of crime intelligence Dumisani Khumalo made available hundreds of WhatsApp messages purporting to show links between underworld kingpin and attempted murder suspect Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and Brown Mogotsi, a North West businessman and ANC fixer who is said to be close to police minister Senzo Mchunu.
He also produced communications purportedly between Mogotsi and Mchunu, which appear to contradict Mchunu’s initial claim in parliament that “I do not know this person”, a version that he later changed to calling him a “comrade”.
Khumalo alleged that Matlala occupies a senior role in a drug syndicate called the Big Five, and he further claimed that Matlala was particularly interested in the fate of the SAPS political killings task team.
Matlala appears to have been in the inner circle regarding the task team’s fate, with the implication being that Mchunu had shut down the team at least in part at the behest of Matlala. Apparently less than 24 hours after the decision was taken, Mogotsi knew about it and was able to tell Matlala the team no longer existed.
There will be those who doubt the commission will achieve much, and indeed the claims made, first by Mkhwanazi and then by Khumalo, will face further scrutiny. And we have yet to hear from Mchunu himself.
Others may see the commission as a theatre for conflicts raging within the SAPS, with Khumalo having been arrested in June, which may have prompted Mkhwanazi to help an ally by going public with these claims.
As unsettling as the hearings have been, and their implications for policing and justice, they have also raised questions about political interference. That politicians interfere with operational matters across state-owned entities is common knowledge, but that this is occurring in law enforcement is especially troubling.
Last week, police commissioner Fannie Masemola testified about his reluctance to carry out what he regarded as an illegitimate instruction from Mchunu.
What is still unclear is whether President Cyril Ramaphosa, in giving Mchunu the all-clear to shut the task team, went beyond his powers in doing so. Did the president apply his mind to the matter? Or was he prepared to acquiesce in the interests of furthering Mchunu’s career, possibly as a successor and future president of the ANC and the country?
There are many questions to be answered in the weeks ahead, and dramatic disclosures are likely to be made. So far, the commission has provided a frightening glimpse into the nefarious forces involved in tender manipulation, contract killings and drug smuggling. There is still a long way to go, but judging by the revelations so far, a far-reaching cleanup will be unavoidable.
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