DURBAN, South Africa – KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of deliberately undermining vital crime-fighting efforts across South Africa during an explosive press briefing on Sunday, 6 July 2025 (0800 GMT).

Mkhwanazi said he would be opening a case against Mchunu for alleged interference in policing matters. The provincial commissioner, dressed in Special Task Force combat uniform and flanked by armed officers, declared himself “combat ready” and willing to die for the police badge.

The allegations center on the sudden disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team, a unit that had secured 436 suspects arrested, 156 firearms recovered—55 of which were ballistically linked to political crimes—and convictions secured in 106 cases. Since 2018, the team recorded 29 life imprisonments and a combined 1,881 years in sentences.

Mkhwanazi presented WhatsApp messages as evidence during the briefing. One message from Maki to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala—a contractor with a R360 million police contract—on 1 January 2025 read: “The task team that came to your house and harassed you have been dissolved.” The message was sent days after Minister Mchunu ordered the task team disbanded on 31 December 2024.

The commissioner revealed that 121 case dockets were removed from the task team in March 2025 and transferred to police headquarters in Pretoria. “Five of these dockets had instructions to arrest perpetrators, but nothing has been done they are sitting in an archive in his office in Pretoria. God knows why.”

“I can confirm to South Africans today that the investigation these members were involved with in Gauteng has unmasked a syndicate. It involves politicians who are currently serving in Parliament,” Mkhwanazi said. The syndicate allegedly includes law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judicial officials controlled by an international drug cartel.

The task team’s work in Gauteng began after the murder of a Q-Tech employee in April 2024. The task team seized an AK-47 and a pistol used in the killing, and ballistic tests linked these weapons to several unsolved murders of prominent South African artists dating back to 2021.

Mkhwanazi also accused Mchunu of misleading Parliament regarding his relationship with Brown Mokgotsi, an associate who had access to classified police documents. “The Minister denied knowing Mr. Brown Mokgotsi in Parliament. But later confirmed on a public platform that he is his comrade from North West,” the commissioner stated.

Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya was also implicated in the allegations. Mkhwanazi remarked that “there can never be peace between a criminal and policeman”, he said, labelling the national crimes detection boss, Sibiya, as a criminal.

Minister Mchunu has previously denied allegations of interference. In March 2025, when questioned about an IPID investigation into Mkhwanazi, “I do want to repeat that I have not laid any complaint against Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi,” Mchunu stated. The minister’s office has not yet responded to Sunday’s allegations.

ActionSA has called for urgent intervention by parliament to address what it describes as a deepening crisis within the SA Police Service and the broader criminal justice system. The party said Mkhwanazi’s claims raise grave concerns about national security.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola has reportedly overruled the minister’s disbandment directive with a signed letter and budget allocation. The Political Killings Task Team remains operational despite the ministerial order.

The briefing occurred against a backdrop of tensions between Mkhwanazi and police leadership. In March 2025, IPID launched an investigation into the KZN commissioner following allegations of interference in a 2023 arrest, though the probe was later withdrawn.

Mkhwanazi, whose term ends in a year, concluded the briefing with a stark warning. “I will die for this badge,” Mkhwanazi declared, emphasising his resolve. He warned that the drug cartel operating from Gauteng imports narcotics from South America through Durban and other ports, posing a national security threat.

The Political Killings Task Team was established in July 2018 under an inter-ministerial committee led by President Ramaphosa to address political assassinations in KwaZulu-Natal. The province has recorded the highest number of political killings in South Africa.