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The ANC’s integrity commission has dealt a devastating blow to former police minister Bheki Cele, recommending that he consider resigning from the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC).
The explosive recommendation has sent shockwaves through ANC structures in KwaZulu-Natal, where influential party figures had been lobbying for Cele to emerge as the ANC’s mayoral candidate for the crucial eThekwini metro ahead of the November local government elections.
At least four ANC insiders told the Sunday Times that the NEC had been briefed by the party’s integrity commission — often referred to internally as the “body of elders” — on allegations Cele continued associating with “unscrupulous” individuals accused of criminal conduct even after leaving the cabinet.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu did not respond to questions by the Sunday Times, while integrity commission chair Frank Chikane referred questions to the ANC, saying that he did not respond to faceless members of the NEC.
“We engaged with the NEC last week, and they never raised what you are talking about. Please send them to me if they have legitimate questions,” Chikane said.
One insider said tensions erupted during informal discussions among NEC members after the release of the reports involving Cele and former social development minister Sisisi Tolashe.
“There is a double standard that must be addressed. Those close to the president are not prosecuted,” the insider said. “Where is the report on Senzo [Mchunu]? Where is the report on Maropene [Ramokgopa]? Bheki is at odds with Mchunu, so suddenly the wheels of justice move faster for him. It creates the impression that the integrity commission itself has become factional.”
Earlier in 2026, ANC deputy secretary-general Maropene Ramokgopa and Tolashe appeared before the integrity commission after allegations emerged that vehicles donated to the ANC were used for personal gain.
Ramokgopa allegedly took three vehicles and allowed them to be used by her family members, while Tolashe allegedly appropriated two vehicles meant for party work.
Tolashe has been fired from Ramaphosa’s cabinet and is expected to resign as ANC Women’s League president. The integrity commission is understood to have recommended that Cele be removed from the NEC and step aside from all party activities pending the outcome of the relevant disciplinary processes.
“The integrity commission said that, in its view, he should explain why he should not resign, as [its] position was that he should step down. He responded, [by] outlining why he could not resign. After considering his response, no final conclusion was reached that they still believed he should resign. Instead, they left the matter for the NEC to decide.
“The difference between him and Sisisi is that in her case they were clear that, even after considering her response, they still felt she should resign,” the insider said.
According to ANC leaders, the party’s body of elders took issue with Cele’s alleged association with questionable individuals linked to criminal activity during his tenure as police minister.
We had hoped the allegations [made] against him at parliament’s ad hoc committee and the Madlanga commission would fade away — KwaZulu-Natal ANC leader.
“The elders felt that, as minister of police, he should have known better than to associate with such individuals. But he said he had only stayed at [Vusimuzi ‘Cat’] Matlala’s house after he was removed from [the] cabinet. The integrity commission’s concerns were less about Matlala specifically and more about the fact that he had direct contact with criminals,” one insider said.
The move has effectively torpedoed attempts by the KwaZulu-Natal heavyweight to stage a dramatic political comeback through local government. A provincial leader said eThekwini’s regional leadership had already included Cele in its election strategy.
“He has been campaigning for us. It puts us in a difficult position, and we are unsure how to respond in light of this decision,” the leader said.
One NEC insider said there was growing support within the party’s top leadership for the integrity commission’s recommendations to become binding.
“There was a strong view that, once the integrity commission makes findings, there should not be selective implementation. The organisation cannot preach renewal and then ignore its own processes,” the insider said.
Cele’s supporters in the NEC have accused the integrity commission of operating selectively and targeting leaders aligned to certain party factions.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced in July 2025 that Cele and former police minister Senzo Mchunu would face the ANC integrity commission and possible disciplinary processes over allegations of criminal interference in the police service.
Mbalula this week confirmed that Cele and Tolashe would also face internal disciplinary action as part of the ANC’s renewal programme.
Cele’s troubles deepened after his name repeatedly surfaced in testimony linked to controversial businessman Matlala, an alleged underworld figure accused of attempted murder, money laundering and links to criminal syndicates.
During explosive testimony before parliament’s ad hoc committee probing political interference in the criminal justice system, Matlala alleged that Cele had solicited money from him and stayed at his luxury Pretoria penthouse.
Matlala claimed he paid Cele R500,000 cash in two instalments after the former minister allegedly requested financial assistance. Cele has denied wrongdoing.
The controversy intensified when businessman Brown Mogotsi told the Madlanga commission into police malfeasance that Cele had allegedly been presented with an intelligence dossier as far back as 2018 linking Matlala to violent criminal networks and the “John Wick” killings in Gauteng.
Cele himself later acknowledged meeting Matlala at Durban’s Beverly Hills Hotel in December 2024, though he insisted the interaction was aimed at gathering information.
The allegations have become politically toxic inside the ANC, particularly as the party attempts to rebuild public trust after a bruising 2024 electoral result in KwaZulu-Natal.
Cele’s allies in KwaZulu-Natal viewed him as the party’s strongest possible candidate to reclaim lost political ground in eThekwini and stem the growing influence of former president Jacob Zuma and the MK Party.
One provincial leader said Cele’s popularity among ordinary ANC supporters and township communities uniquely positioned him to reconnect the party with disgruntled voters.
“He is very good on the ground. We need someone like Bheki to help us in these elections, and he would have made a great mayor,” the leader said.
“We had hoped the allegations [made] against him at parliament’s ad hoc committee and the Madlanga commission would fade away. Now that the integrity commission has found against him, it means we must look at other options.”
The leader warned that the ANC faced a serious electoral threat in eThekwini.
“As much as Cyril Xaba is respected at Luthuli House, [people on] the ground [do] not know him. He is not a man of the people. Right now in KZN we need somebody who connects directly with communities if we [are to] have any chance of defeating MK.”
Cele remains one of the most recognisable political figures in KwaZulu-Natal politics. A former MEC for transport, community safety & liaison, Cele rose through ANC structures in the eThekwini region before becoming KwaZulu-Natal provincial chair.
He later served as national police commissioner before returning to the cabinet as police minister under President Cyril Ramaphosa. Known for his populist style, fiery rhetoric and tough-on-crime image, Cele has maintained significant grassroots support in parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
His potential candidacy for the eThekwini mayoralty had been viewed by some within the ANC as a last-ditch effort to stabilise the party in its largest metro in the province.
The ANC lost outright control of eThekwini in the 2021 local government elections after its support dropped to 42% — the first time the party had fallen below a governing majority in the metro since taking control of it in 2006.
The metro is governed through a coalition arrangement involving the ANC, the EFF, the IFP and the National Freedom Party.
The ANC’s broader decline in KwaZulu-Natal worsened further in the 2024 national and provincial elections, when the MK Party surged to victory in the province, humiliating the ANC and leading to internal calls for the provincial executive committee to be disbanded in 2025.
The MK Party is now hoping to build on its 2024 success by wresting control of eThekwini from the ANC in the upcoming local government elections.
