President Cyril Ramaphosa has established a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate explosive allegations that drug cartels and political insiders have infiltrated the police, prosecution and intelligence services, and immediately placed police minister Senzo Mchunu on leave.
The commission of inquiry, headed by acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is tasked with probing the allegations against Mchunu, including investigating whether any members of the national executive responsible for the criminal justice system were complicit, aided and abetted or participated in the alleged criminal activities.
This marks the most sweeping anticorruption intervention since the Zondo commission.
By targeting current and former rogue senior officers in the SA Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, the State Security Agency and the judiciary, Ramaphosa is betting that radical transparency can restore public trust and cripple syndicates that have stalked SA’s streets.
“It will make findings and recommendations for criminal prosecutions, disciplinary actions and institutional reform,” Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
“Once established, the commission shall consider prima facie evidence relating to the involvement of individuals who are currently employed within law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
“Where appropriate, the commission must make recommendations on the employment status of such officials currently employed, including whether they should be suspended pending the outcome of further investigations.”
In a televised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa said the allegations against Mchunu threaten to undermine the confidence of South Africans in the ability of the SA Police Service to protect them and to effectively fight crime and corruption.
Mchunu, a veteran ANC figure and former KwaZulu-Natal premier, was appointed to the portfolio in the Ramaphosa-led GNU in 2024.
While he has denied the allegations, calls for his suspension have mounted, with opposition parties and the DA warning that confidence in law enforcement is at risk.
The police minister has been placed on special leave while the commission conducts its work.
Ramaphosa has appointed Firoz Cachalia, an academic, lawyer and former head of the presidential anticorruption task team, to replace Mchunu in the interim.
“I’m appointing Professor Cachalia in terms of section 91 (3)(c) of the constitution, which empowers the president to select no more than two ministers from outside the National Assembly. Professor Cachalia will be retiring from his current position at the University of Witwatersrand at the end of July this year,” Ramaphosa said.
Criminal underworld
National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza has directed parliament’s portfolio committees on police and justice & constitutional development and the joint standing committee on intelligence to urgently consider the allegations against Mchunu.
The police minister is also the subject of investigation by public protector Kholeka Gcaleka.
Two weeks ago, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi publicly alleged that Mchunu was involved in the criminal underworld and had directed the dissolution or sidelining of police units tasked with probing politically motivated assassinations.
These claims include accusations that Mchunu deliberately intervened in investigations, freezing case files linked to powerful individuals and crime syndicates, and generally facilitating criminal networks’ infiltration into state institutions.
Mchunu has denied all charges.
Nevertheless, the allegations have cast a harsh spotlight on deep-seated corruption and organised crime in state institutions.
They are also set to dent Mchunu’s prospects of succeeding Ramaphosa at the 2027 ANC elective conference. Mchunu, who is also a part of the ANC’s national executive committee, joined the national cabinet in 2019, first as the minister of public service & administration, but later reshuffled to the water & sanitation department in 2021.
Business Day understands that Mchunu will meet the ANC’s top seven officials on Monday, which includes Ramaphosa, to provide an account of the allegations.
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