Under-fire police minister Senzo Mchunu has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to grant him special leave as calls grow for his immediate removal following allegations that he is associated with criminals who are in possession of state secrets.
The president had yet to respond to Mchunu’s request by the time of publication.
Mchunu’s future hangs in the balance following an explosive media briefing by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi last weekend, where he alleged that the minister was interfering with his work and protecting the interests of his politically connected cronies who have fallen foul of the law.
The Sunday Times understands that Ramaphosa’s inner circle has advised him to institute a judicial commission of inquiry with a quick turnaround of no more than six weeks.
Government insiders indicated that Ramaphosa had received a report from the State Security Agency that warned of possible turmoil should he take any action against Mkhwanazi.
“If he does that, the country is going to be upside down,” one source said. “The reports he’s getting are that there would be protests that will be countrywide because people are tired of crime.”
Other government sources indicated that options Ramaphosa is weighing include a cabinet reshuffle in which Mchunu is moved from the police portfolio. A reshuffle could also affect higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane, who is likely to lose her job in a reshuffle. But Ramaphosa will also have to consider internal ANC dynamics before taking any action.
With the ANC having suffered a significant defeat in KwaZulu-Natal in last year’s election, taking action against Mchunu and Nkabane — who are both from the province — might cause a headache for Ramaphosa.
Party insiders said that if the two ministers left their posts, they would have to be replaced by other KwaZulu-Natal heavyweights, such as Jeff Radebe or former premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube. Radebe, a former minister, leads the ANC provincial task team in the province. Dube-Ncube is also a member of the task team.
Some ANC leaders have urged Ramaphosa not to act against Mchunu based solely on Mkhwanazi’s allegations, noting he has yet to be formally charged with a crime.
Mchunu has remained mum on the allegations, which include an accusation that he and his associate, Brown Mogotsi, have been in a dodgy relationship with a police service provider and murder accused Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala.
I am sure you have not seen any letter that I have signed to close the unit. I have not signed it, and I don’t think anybody has ever seen a letter where I have signed off the closure of the unit
— Gen Fannie Masemola, national police commissioner
Mkhwanazi’s shock briefing last weekend revealed cracks in the highest echelons of the police, where rival factions are fighting for control of the crime intelligence division.
The fight is often characterised by the dissemination of disinformation, deceit and lies, putting national security at risk.
Mkhwanazi said Mchunu’s instruction that the police task team on political killings be disbanded violated procedure because national commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola was sidelined from the decision.
Mkhwanazi’s accusations came as almost the entire senior leadership of crime intelligence, including its head Maj-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, have been charged in court in connection with the unlawful appointment of a general.
The Sunday Times has learnt that the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), which was behind Khumalo’s arrest, is investigating possible tender corruption amounting to more than R6.7m against Mkhwanazi and Masemola.
Sources in law enforcement claim that Mkhwanazi’s briefing was a pre-emptive strike aimed at mobilising public sympathy to thwart any attempt by Idac to arrest him and Masemola. The case against them involves allegations they received cash bribes from corruption accused Inban Kistiah, a Durban businessman who scored the R6.7m tender in 2016.
Idac spokesperson Henry Mamothame said he could not comment on the investigation.
The relationship between Masemola, Mkhwanazi and Khumalo goes back to at least 2011, when the then president Jacob Zuma appointed Mkhwanazi acting police commissioner.
Mkhwanazi then appointed Masemola to act as head of crime intelligence, and Masemola brought Khumalo in to the unit. But Khumalo only lasted a few months in the position.
Khumalo headed the political killings task team and was appointed to his current position in 2022 during Bheki Cele’s tenure as police minister. Khumalo’s security clearance was allegedly fast-tracked and irregularly issued by an ally, Maj-Gen Philani Lushaba, who had no authority to issue it.
It is alleged that Kistiah, who is facing corruption charges with former national police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, was awarded a tender to provide 200 bulletproof vests for ballistic testing at an inflated price of R33,000 per vest.
Kistiah also attempted to sell a R45m grabber to the police ahead of the ANC’s elective conference in 2017. Masemola, Mkhwanazi and other top cops attended a presentation on bulletproof vests overseas and it is alleged that it was during this trip that the two generals were bribed with luxury gifts.
Masemola has previously denied these allegations and this week he also denied any involvement in the disbanding of the political killings task team.
“I am sure you have not seen any letter that I have signed to close the unit. I have not signed it, and I don’t think anybody has ever seen a letter where I have signed off the closure of the unit,” said Masemola this week.
Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said Masemola had warned Mchunu to not disband the task team. Mathe promised to provide documentation to that effect, but has yet to do so.
But a publicly available letter from Mchunu to Masemola and his office, which Masemola received on December 31, instructs him to halt the filling of posts in crime intelligence, to review police operations at ports of entry and close the political killings task team.
Documentary evidence shows that Masemola was at work on the day and circulated a letter to all divisional commissioners and the ministry appointing deputy commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili to act on his behalf until January 13 this year.
Masemola’s staff officer, Brig GH Lethoko, sent an e-mail to the deputy national commissioner Maj-Gen Shadrack Sibiya on January 3 asking him to implement Mchunu’s instructions.
“Office of the DNC is requested to accordingly communicate the deactivation to the relevant team. Your office is further requested to submit a close-up report to be submitted on January 14 2025 for Natcom’s [national commissioner’s] consideration and sign off to the minister,” said Lethoko.
Further documentation seen by the Sunday Times reveals that Masemola was closely involved in the discussions around disbanding the task team. On March 27, in a meeting with Mchunu, he presented an update on the process.
Following the instruction from Masemola’s office, Sibiya told his deputy, Lt-Gen Hilda Senthumule Khumalo, on January 17: “The minister of police issued a directive to the national commissioner to immediately deactivate and disband the [task team]. This decision was informed by an assessment that the task team no longer significantly contributed to policing efforts…These measures must ensure that ongoing investigations are not disrupted or compromised.”
Masemola and Mkhwanazi did not respond to detailed questions sent to them this week.
The Sunday Times has seen documents indicating that Mchunu’s decision to scrap the task team was triggered by a complaint to parliament’s portfolio committee on police by activist Mary de Haas. She urged “the disbandment of the irregularly constituted political killings task team headed by Gen Khumalo and the urgent need for an oversight body and audit of task team funding”.
“Allegations made by other police members about excessive expenditure by members of this team have apparently been confirmed by a report I received over the weekend that ... Gen Mkhwanazi approved funds for accommodation at the luxury Umhlanga Rocks hotel Oyster Box and [an] upmarket bed and breakfast establishment in the same Umhlanga Rocks area and that as a consequence there is insufficient money for petrol for some police vehicles.”
The complaint was also sent to Masemola in November 2024.
Lethoko said in an e-mail to an Mchunu adviser in November last year: “The appointment of a judicial oversight body can only be handled by the minister and it is kindly requested that the complaint be brought to the attention of the minister for further directive.”
It is unclear why the minister did not establish a judicial body to deal with the complaint. His office did not respond to questions.
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