Action Society is calling for an immediate independent judicial inquiry into the explosive allegations against Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu. The inquiry must have full subpoena powers, offer protection to whistle-blowers, and operate entirely outside SAPS or parliamentary structures. The organisation also renews its call for urgent structural reform — including the decentralisation of policing and the reinstatement of an autonomous anti-corruption unit — to dismantle the systems that enable political interference and organised crime to flourish.
These demands follow shocking claims made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who accused Minister Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya of deliberately interfering in investigations, protecting criminal networks, and disbanding an elite task team that had made significant progress in exposing politically linked syndicates. While these are, at present, allegations, the fact that they come from one of the most senior policing figures in the country points to a deep crisis of integrity within the SAPS.
“This isn’t about isolated individuals,” said Action Society spokesperson Juanita du Preez. “It’s about a system that protects the powerful, sidelines the ethical, and silences those trying to serve justice. When you centralise policing under political control, you create the very conditions where this rot not only begins — but thrives.”
This is not the first time South Africa has witnessed high-level corruption within its policing leadership. In 2010, former National Commissioner Jackie Selebi was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 15 years in prison after accepting bribes from a drug trafficker. Bheki Cele, who later served as Minister of Police, was dismissed from his role as Commissioner following a R1.7 billion lease scandal described by the Public Protector as “improper and unlawful.” Today, Senzo Mchunu faces allegations that mirror the same pattern: political interference, protection of criminals, and obstruction of justice.
The structure of SAPS — a single, centralised, nationally controlled police force — has become a breeding ground for such abuses. Instead of serving the people, it too often serves political agendas. Operational independence is repeatedly undermined, capable officers are removed or marginalised, and entire units are dissolved when their work becomes politically inconvenient.
The consequences of this corruption are not abstract. While politicians manipulate the system to protect themselves, the most vulnerable communities are left without protection. Police officers on the ground are disempowered, investigations stall, and victims of violent crime — especially women and children — are denied justice.
If nothing is done, this will not be the last scandal to emerge. Action Society warns that unless structural reform is implemented now, the next generation of South Africans will inherit a criminal justice system even more compromised, captured and incapable than the one we see today. Justice cannot survive under the shadow of unchecked political power. The allegations made this week are a national alarm bell — and it must not be ignored.
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