S. African Leader gets suspended over claims of criminal network
(MENAFN) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu following serious accusations of colluding with a criminal syndicate and obstructing investigations into political assassinations, according to reports.
Ramaphosa placed Mchunu on immediate leave Sunday and announced the formation of a commission of inquiry to probe the claims. Firoz Cachalia—a law professor, chair of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, and former Gauteng community safety minister—has been named acting police minister during the investigation.
The president said the inquiry will examine both 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, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner, alleged during a press conference that a well-organized criminal network had infiltrated the country’s law enforcement and intelligence services.
He claimed the police minister deliberately disrupted critical investigations and collaborated with several individuals—including one facing murder charges—to dismantle a special task force responsible for probing politically linked killings. Mkhwanazi added that over 100 case files were taken from the unit and have not been followed up since.
The accusations have caused friction within the coalition government in Pretoria. Ramaphosa, who made anti-corruption and crime prevention key pillars of his election platform last year, is now under increasing pressure to take decisive action.
Last Thursday, the Democratic Alliance (DA)—the largest party in the coalition alongside Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC)—filed criminal charges against Mchunu, a high-ranking ANC official.
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