Senzo Mchunu stands accused of sabotaging investigations and dismantling a task force probing politically motivated killings
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended the country’s minister of police, Senzo Mchunu, over allegations that he conspired with a criminal network and tampered with investigations into political assassinations.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on immediate leave and announced a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations. He appointed Firoz Cachalia – a law professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, chair of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, and former Gauteng community safety minister – as acting minister.
He said the commission will investigate current and former senior officials “who may have aided or abetted the alleged criminal activity, failed to act on credible intelligence or internal warnings, or benefited financially or politically from a syndicate’s operations.”
On July 6, KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged at a media briefing that a sophisticated criminal syndicate had infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement and intelligence structures. He claimed the police minister sabotaged sensitive investigations and colluded with individuals – including a murder accused – to disband a task force investigating politically motivated killings. Mkhwanazi said more than 100 case files were removed from the team and have not been pursued since.
The claims have sparked tensions within Pretoria’s multi-party government, with Ramaphosa – who pledged to fight corruption and crime during the country’s election campaigns last year – under mounting pressure to act swiftly.
Last Thursday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) – the largest party in the governing coalition with Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) – laid criminal charges against Mchunu, who is a senior member of the ANC.
DA leader John Steenhuisen dismissed the commission as a way to dodge accountability, calling on the president to “show bold and firm leadership” instead of handing off executive responsibility to a panel.
“South Africans have grown cynical of talk shops, task teams and commissions which they see as buying time and avoiding accountability,” he said.
Mchunu has denied the allegations and expressed support for the inquiry.
“I stand ready to respond to the accusations against me and account to the citizens of the Republic, fully and honestly so,” he stated.
