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The lieutenant-general accused senior police officials of stifling the work of his political killings task team.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has sent a strong message to senior police officials.
Flanked by armed officers, the commissioner gave a briefing detailing the work of a political killings task team and the role played by Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu.
KZN’s top cop also revealed the existence of a syndicate in Gauteng propped up by powerful members of society.
Political killings task team
Near the end of March, Mkhwanazi was informed that his provincial political killings task team was to be disbanded.
The task team was established in 2018 to investigate politically motivated murders and to date had charged 436 suspects and opened 612 case dockets.
Mkhwanazi stated on Sunday that 121 case dockets under investigation were removed from the task team by Deputy National Commissioner of Crime Detection, General Shadrack Sibiya.
“These case dockets have since March been sitting at head office ever since without any investigation work being done on them,” said Mkhwanazi.
“Five of these dockets already had instruction to arrest perpetrators but nothing has been done because a General Sibiya executing the instruction of the minister, withdrew all these dockets and they are sitting in archive in his office in Pretoria. God knows why.”
WATCH: KZN police commissioner give update on political killings task team
Gauteng syndicate
The task team had helped secure 128 guilty convictions from 106 cases and confiscated 156 firearms, 55 of which were directly linked to political murders.
Among the guilty were 35 police officers.
Last year, Mkhwanazi deployed 10 members of his task team to assist with a Gauteng organised crime investigation and he attributed this decision as the reason why the KZN task team was targeted for dissolution.
He stated that his members assisted in uncovering the workings of an organised crime syndicate involving high-ranking individuals.
“This syndicate involves, amongst others, politicians who are currently serving in parliament,” said Mkhwanazi.
Without naming individuals, he added that police members, metropolitan police officers, correctional services officials, prosecutors and members of the judiciary were involved in this syndicate.
“All these are controlled by the drug cartel as well as business people in the province of Gauteng,” he added.
Failed peace talks
Mkhwanazi then elaborated on the connection between North West businessman Brown Mogotsi, tenderpreneur Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala and Mchunu.
Matlala was arrested in May and the KZN commissioner explained that analysis was conducted in his digital devices.
“This analysis reveals communication between the arrested Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlala, Mr Brown Mogotsi — an associate of the minister of police — as well as the minister of police Senzo Mchunu,” said Mkhwanazi.
He then drew intricate links between Mogotsi, Matlala, Mchunu and Sibiya using communications, invoices, ballistics reports and official letters of instruction received by his office.
He explained that the minister attempted to intervene in the relationship between Sibiya and himself, but Mkhwanazi remained steadfast.
“The minister of police felt that he must make me and General Sibiya to find peace. Surely, there can never be peace between a criminal and a police officer,” he stated.
Mchunu responds
Mkhwanazi said the work of the task team will continue and he vowed to pursue criminal charges where applicable.
In the aftermath of Mkhwanazi’s briefing, Mchunu’s office released a statement saying that the provincial commissioner’s allegations will be reviewed.
“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,” stated ministry spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi.
“All these statements made by [Mkhwanazi] in public require an urgent, thorough and transparent investigation, on a proper platform.”
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