South African President Suspends Police Minister
(MENAFN) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on immediate suspension following serious allegations that he collaborated with a criminal syndicate and interfered with investigations into politically motivated assassinations.
Ramaphosa announced on Sunday that Mchunu would be put on leave while launching a commission of inquiry to thoroughly examine these claims. Firoz Cachalia, a University of the Witwatersrand law professor, chair of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, and former Gauteng community safety minister, was appointed as acting police minister.
The commission’s mandate is to scrutinize both current and former senior officials suspected of aiding or abetting criminal activity, ignoring credible intelligence or internal warnings, or profiting politically or financially from the syndicate’s operations.
The controversy erupted following a July 6 media briefing by KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He revealed that a sophisticated criminal network had infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Mkhwanazi accused the police minister of sabotaging key investigations and conspiring with individuals, including a murder suspect, to dismantle a task force focused on politically charged killings. According to him, over 100 case files were removed from the task force and have since remained uninvestigated.
These allegations have heightened tensions within Pretoria’s multi-party government. Ramaphosa, who campaigned last year on a firm anti-corruption and crime platform, now faces intense pressure to respond decisively.
Last Thursday, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the largest partner in the governing coalition alongside Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), formally filed criminal charges against Mchunu, a senior ANC official.
DA leader John Steenhuisen criticized the formation of the commission as a tactic to evade direct responsibility, urging the president to “show bold and firm leadership” rather than delegating executive duties to a panel.
“South Africans have grown cynical of talk shops, task teams and commissions which they see as buying time and avoiding accountability,” Steenhuisen said.
Mchunu has rejected the accusations and expressed his willingness to cooperate fully with the investigation.
“I stand ready to respond to the accusations against me and account to the citizens of the Republic, fully and honestly so,” he stated.
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