The dire state of the SA Police Service (SAPS) is finally undeniable. Much of the public conversation suggests it is the suspended minister, Senzo Mchunu, who is on trial. Indeed, the straw-clutching solution most public commentary proffers is “fire Mchunu and our problems are over”.
Forget about it. It is the SAPS that is on trial. But who will bell the cat? Who will venture into that nest of deadly vipers and put the SAPS in the dock? And when it is found guilty — and be sure that it is guilty as charged — who will rehabilitate this utterly delinquent rogue?
I guess it is necessary to dispose of KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations first, though I have to say his chosen mode and timing of publicising the allegations already raises questions about their veracity.
All he needed was a pair of dark Ray-Bans and he would have looked like the banana republic dictator from central casting. And on a quiet Sunday morning when maximum coverage was guaranteed. Why didn’t he go to the national police commissioner with these devastating allegations? Indeed, why didn’t he go directly to the president?
Far from that, he chose a day when the president was out of the country. Sometimes when something looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it actually is a duck. At the very least, one must closely examine this duck-like being quacking on about nothing less than the criminal capture of all branches of Gauteng law enforcement, to establish the origins of the strange creature.
No matter that my gut may tell me otherwise, Mchunu may be guilty and the allegations levelled by one of the country’s senior police officers must be treated with the utmost seriousness. That said, I’m not sure I understand the nature of the charges. The stuff about setting up criminal networks comprising “law enforcement ... prosecutors and the judiciary in Gauteng, which is controlled by a drug cartel as well as business people” is obviously extremely serious. But for now they are bald allegations that will have to be supported by evidence.
It will be fascinating to learn how a busy provincial police commissioner has managed to conduct the depth of investigation that has enabled him to make public these sweeping allegations against Gauteng’s SAPS, National Prosecuting Authority and judiciary.
Another charge made is that Mchunu lied to parliament. It seems he has resolutely denied knowing “Cat” Matlala, the wealthy beneficiary of SAPS and other state contracts. Apparently, he initially also denied knowing the person — one Brown Mogotsi — said to have been the intermediary between Mchunu and Matlala.
While Mchunu has continued to deny ever meeting Matlala it seems that, contrary to what he apparently first conveyed to some or other parliamentary structure, he now admits to having known Mogotsi but “only as a comrade”. God know what this means, but what I do know is that in a world in which absolutely everybody enjoys the title of “comrade”, it’s wholly possible to “know” someone “as a comrade” without knowing anything else about the person in question, including the comrade’s name.
And then, of course, whoever stands in judgment of Mchunu and Shadrack Sibiya, the suspended deputy national commissioner and head of detective services, particularly of the most serious allegations, must also exclude a range of other possible conspiracies and grievances that may underpin Mkhwanazi’s allegations.
How many would you like? Mkhwanazi is clearly stewing with anger and resentment at Mchunu and Sibiya’s attempts to disband the political killings task team in KwaZulu-Natal. Is that a factor? Then there’s former president Jacob Zuma in his Nkandla redoubt eagerly waiting for any opportunity to stick it to “Ramaphosa’s ANC”, particularly to Mchunu, one of Ramaphosa’s leading allies in the province.
Zuma is supported by the EFF, which is apparently upset at Ramaphosa’s alleged technical contravention of the constitution. Are Mkhwanazi and Sibiya perhaps competing contenders for the next commissioner of police? Or maybe for the vacant head of the Hawks? And the toxic and thoroughly corrupt hand of crime intelligence? What mischief is it up to? And, of course, don’t exclude the possibility of internal ANC factionalism.
Mchunu has a pretty impressive record in provincial and national government, and until now no dark clouds hovering over his head. He has been mentioned as a possible successor to Ramaphosa. I was struck by the alacrity with which ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula initially pronounced Mchunu guilty, though he has softened his response since the appointment of the commission of inquiry.
The president has suspended Mchunu. Police commissioner Fannie Masemola, also implicated in a seemingly unrelated corruption allegation, has suspended Sibiya. Why is Mkhwanazi not suspended? We know the fate that likely awaits Mchunu and Sibiya if found guilty, particularly of the most serious allegations. But what if Mkhwanazi’s allegations aren’t supported by the evidence or, worse, are found to have been contrived in bad faith. What happens to him?
The only good news that emerges out of this sordid affair is the appointment of Firoz Cachalia as acting police minister and justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga as head of the commission that will interrogate Mkhwanazi’s allegations. Cachalia is a rare combination of scholar and activist, learned and thoughtful but no armchair intellectual — activism runs in his veins.
Madlanga would have been my first choice by a country mile for chairing the commission of enquiry. I had the rare privilege of serving with Madlanga on the Competition Tribunal before he ascended to higher places. He’s smart, firm, confident. I don’t envy either of them, but I thank the gods that we have South Africans of their calibre willing to step up to the plate when their country so desperately needs them.
Sir Robert Mark, a former head of Scotland Yard, once said, “The basic test of a decent police force is to catch more criminals than it employs.” We’re about to discover whether the senior officer ranks of the SAPS pass this test.
Isn’t it ironic that the best news the left has had in the recent past stems from that dark hole, the US. I refer, of course, to Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York Democratic primary in the mayoralty elections. When Zohru — as his charming, effervescent mother, Mira Nair, called him — was five years old he lived in Cape Town. My wife and I became friends with his parents and Zohru, a sweet, talkative child, and our son Jonah, similarly sweet and talkative, became good buddies.
I vividly recall the following conversation with Zohran as he sat in his car seat one late evening when taking him home: Zohran: “I am four and Jonah is five”. “Yes”, I replied. “And”, responded Zohran, “when I am five, Jonah will be six”. “Yes”, I repeated. “And when I am six Jonah will be seven.” “Yes”, I said, not sure where this was going. Then a big sigh from Zohran. “And that’s how it will always be between me and Jonah”.
Two sweet, talkative boys have grown up to be sweet, talkative adults. Jonah’s 35 and Zohran is indeed only 34, and both are in their own diverse ways determined to change the world for the better. May the force be with them.
• Lewis, a former trade unionist, academic, policymaker, regulator and company board member, was a co-founder and director of Corruption Watch.
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