Embattled higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane must have breathed a great sigh of relief when KZN provincial police commissioner implicated one of her colleagues – police minister Senzo Mchunu – in alleged involvement with the underworld.
Nkabane has come under public scrutiny following revelations she might have lied to parliament about a non-existent panel that advised her to appoint politicians and children of political allies to the board of the all-important sector education and training authorities (Setas).
Unfortunately for Nkabane, while the allegations against Mchunu are more serious, the case would not take the heat off her. Just recently, even officials from her office distanced themselves from her imaginary panel.
What the revelations about Mchunu mean is that Nkabane’s boss, President Cyril Ramaphosa, now has a bigger headache to contemplate what action to take against another ally who has been found in the wrong.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to address the nation on Sunday to announce how he will act on the allegations made by KZN provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. However, don’t raise your hopes dear reader, our president has already demonstrated his unwillingness to act decisively against political allies who are found wanting. Take the case of minister Thembi Simelane, who was merely shifted to another ministry when it emerged that she received funds from a company that benefited from the VBS Mutual Bank.
Expect Ramaphosa to tread carefully as he seeks to find a solution, not that will satisfy the public, but that will be convenient for his political survival.
The allegations against Mchunu are worrying. Mkhwanazi’s revelations link the minister with a group that is alleged not only to have siphoned money from the state – but also suspected of drug-dealing and having carried out a number of killings. These allegations not only undermine the government’s commitment to fight crime and corruption, but deal a serious blow to the integrity of the state and pose a threat to state security.
What is likely to happen is that political considerations will be put ahead of what is in the public interest. Mchunu is no political minnow. He was one of the first ANC leaders in KZN to have a fallout with former president Jacob Zuma during the latter’s tenure as president.
He openly backed Ramaphosa’s ascendance to the ANC presidency and was instrumental in propelling him to the top position in 2017. Mchunu commands great influence in ANC KZN circles. He is earmarked for a top position by one of the factions ahead of 2027 ANC national conference and remains a key figure in the faction that is currently shielding Ramaphosa. These allegations also drag the ANC name into the murky world of gangsterism and drug-dealing. With so much anger in society around the proliferation of drugs in communities, this risk of not acting on the allegations may lead to the anger being directed at the ANC. This is what may pressure Ramaphosa to move swiftly.
Acting against such a strong ally would be a difficult decision to take for Ramaphosa while he still has a long way to go in his term. What if Mchunu decides to retaliate by mobilising his forces against the president? So, expect Ramaphosa to tread carefully as he seeks to find a solution, not that will satisfy the public, but that will be convenient for his political survival. While Mchunu’s alleged involvement with dodgy characters should worry us – what is more concerning is the revelation that the senior management within the police force is at war.
What the recent developments have revealed is that the whole SAPS top management requires a major clean-up.
Mkhwanazi also accused deputy commissioner for crime detection, Shadrack Sibiya, of being in cahoots with Mchunu in closing down the political killings task team in a bid to protect politicians and murderers.
What has emerged this week is that national police commissioner Gen Fanie Masemola is in Mkhwanazi’s corner – meaning he is at odds with his deputy, Sibiya. Despite Sibiya telling the media that the instruction to shut down the task team came from Masemola, the national police commissioner has denied issuing such an order.
This can only mean there is a breakdown in the working relationship between Masemola and his head of detectives. As part of the dirty battle, Masemola himself is reported to be under investigation over the purchase of a crime intelligence building. How is the public then expected to trust that the police are capable of working on an attainable strategy to fight crime?
This is the problem that Ramaphosa must resolve urgently. Acting against Mchunu alone would not fix this crisis. What the recent developments have revealed is that the whole SAPS top management requires a major clean-up. The public deserves a police force that is pre-occupied with fighting crime, rather than squabbling and investigating one another. The question is whether Ramaphosa has the political will to act and act now.
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