As a concerned SA citizen I write with growing alarm over the state of safety and leadership in our country. Recent remarks by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi — in which he confidently declared himself safe while implying the public may not be — are deeply troubling. It reflects a disturbing truth: SA citizens no longer feel protected, and that should concern us all (“Police minister Senzo Mchunu accused of aiding criminal syndicates”, July 7).
What’s more alarming is the credibility crisis about the police ministry. When the very individuals tasked with ensuring national safety are implicated in corruption we must ask: who is protecting the people?
SA is beginning to resemble a banana republic, where law and order are selectively applied and public officials operate with impunity. We cannot accept a situation where the police minister faces serious allegations yet swift action is not taken.
President Cyril Ramaphosa showed decisive leadership when he acted against DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield. The same principle must apply here. What you do on the right, you must also do on the left. Leadership must be consistent and principled — not convenient.
We cannot wait for commissions or investors to tell us how to act. South Africans are watching. Ramaphosa must suspend the police minister and all those implicated — not to punish prematurely but to preserve the integrity of the investigation and restore public trust.
This country needs action, not excuses. Safety is not a privilege — it is a constitutional right.
Tsepo Mhlongo
Orlando East
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