Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been accused of having ties to criminal gangs and of meddling in police investigations into politically motivated murders. The allegations were made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at a press briefing on Sunday.
He said Mchunu was receiving financial support from an allegedly corrupt businessman to fund his “political endeavours”. Mchunu has since denied what he says are “wild allegations” while President Cyril Ramaphosa said they were of “grave national security concern” and “receiving the highest priority attention”. Mkhwanazi detailed a sequence of events he claims led to the “orchestrated” disbandment of a task force set up in 2018 to investigate the killing of politicians, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal. He also mentioned the names of people involved in these alleged killings, including Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and Brown Mogorosi.
Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu the Minister of Police, has since released a statement. “In response to the recent allegations made by Provincial Commissioner Mkhwanazi, and while respecting the President’s call for calm, the Minister of Police, Mr. Senzo Mchunu the Minister of Police, feels it is important to clarify the following: The Minister has never met Mr. Matlala, has never spoken to him, nor has the Minister ever requested or received anything from him,” the statement reads. “The Minister did, however, initiate a review of the SAPS tender awarded to him when suspicions of possible wrongdoing surfaced. It was the same tender which has since been terminated.” Furthermore, he said, “whilst the Minister knows and has met Mr. Brown Mogotsi, he is just a comrade and not an associate of the Minister. The Minister has never requested or received anything from him.”
The minister previously rejected the allegations, calling them baseless. “The Minister of Police will never allow his integrity, that of the Ministry or the SAPS at large to be undermined by insinuations made without evidence or due processes, from anyone, including Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi,” he said. “We will be reviewing the Provincial Commissioner’s statements and considering appropriate action. All these statements made by him in public require an urgent, thorough, and transparent investigation, on a proper platform.” He went on to say he remains committed to upholding the rule of law, ensuring accountability within the SAPS, and serving the people of South Africa with integrity. “And most importantly, the Minister remains committed to the task at hand, and that is to reduce the high murder rate, reduce high availability of illegal firearms, tackle drug trafficking and syndicates and GBV+F throughout the country, with a specific focus on the four provinces with high levels of crime, namely: KZN, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape,” he said.
