'General Mkhwanazi is a provincial commissioner. If he asks to see the minister, I see no reason why the minister can't meet him.'
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s media briefing in July would have never happened had he been given an opportunity to voice his concerns by the executive, says Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale.
On 6 July, Mkhwanazi held a media briefing in which he levelled several allegations against police management and the judiciary, among others.
Mkhwanazi said an investigation with the Gauteng organised crime investigation unit unmasked a syndicate which involves politicians, law enforcement, metro police, correctional services, prosecutors, the judiciary and is controlled by drug cartels as well as businesspeople.
During his first appearance at the Madlanga commission last month, Mkhwanazi said that although he presented the media statement alone in July, he did not compile it alone.
“This briefing was a product of the collective and collaborative efforts of various units within the Saps [South African Police Service], the majority of men and women in blue in [the] service, who were responsible, together with me, for compiling this document,” Mkhwanazi said at the time.
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“It was a reflection of the common concerns that we share as colleagues in different ranks in the service, which made us have a common desire for these problems to be resolved in order to enable these members of the service to be able to serve with honour and dignity.”
Meeting request
Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga commission that before his media briefing in July, he had sought to address matters with Mchunu to no avail.
On 5 April 2025, Mkhwanazi sent Mchunu a message requesting a meeting involving national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, Crime Intelligence’s Dumisani Khumalo, Major-General Feroz Khan, Mchunu’s chief of staff Cedrick Nkabinde and businessman Brown Mogotsi to discuss several issues.
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Mkhwanazi gave Mchunu the option to invite Ipid at his will.
Mchunu confirmed that his response to Mkhwanazi at the time was: “Received, will revert at some point.”
However, the meeting never materialised.
‘Principle’
During his testimony at the commission, Mchunu explained that he could not call the meeting as a matter of “principle”. He said he would not call a meeting with Brown Mogotsi, who is not a member of the police.
“I made a decision that I wouldn’t call a meeting like this because I wouldn’t know what to call it. It can’t be done, you can’t do it as a minister, as a matter of principle. I couldn’t invite Brown Mogotsi, who is outside the organisation and is not part of the internal organisation.”
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However, Mchunu never informed Mkhwanazi of his concerns regarding the meeting. He seemed to imply that Mkhwanazi’s attitude towards him was the reason.
The apparent “attitude” later turned out to be threats that Mkhwanazi allegedly made to Mchunu through the minister’s chief of staff.
The minister, however, was unable to prove these threats and apologised to parliament as a result.
Mathale: ‘Why not meet Mkhwanazi?’
On Tuesday, Mathale said Mchunu should have met with Mkhwanazi and that this meeting might have resolved the issues currently playing out in public.
“When I was listening to some of the proceedings here, even though I didn’t follow everything, there was an indication that he wanted to engage with the minister, but that platform was not provided. I guess that is what might have motivated him, because he couldn’t get an outlet to raise his issues, to do what he did,” said Mathale.
“I think if he were given the opportunity to engage with the executive authority, he probably would not arrive where we are. There have been differences of opinion, even when [former] minister [Bheki] Cele was in the space. Police did not necessarily see things the same way, but it never went to the extent that one of the officers would want to vent their frustrations in the manner in which Mkhwanazi did.
“The differences that he spoke about, I’m convinced that should he have been given an ear, there would have been a way to manage what we find ourselves with. In fact, if the interface between the executive authority and the accounting officer was stronger, we would not have arrived here.
“But because he didn’t get an outlet, he thought it would be right for him to do what he did. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do, but I think it could have been avoided. Mkhwanazi is a provincial commissioner. If he asks to see the minister, I see no reason why the minister can’t meet him. I’m saying he should have been granted the meeting.”
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