A Rotten Core: SAPS Leadership Implosion Exposes Deep-Rooted Criminal Collusion
- Tebogo Khaas
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Durban, South Africa, Sunday, 6 July 2025 — Public Interest SA is alarmed and deeply outraged by explosive revelations made this morning by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. In a staggering public disclosure, General Mkhwanazi directly accused the Deputy National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, of criminal conduct — including the wilful obstruction of justice, shielding of politically connected suspects, and aiding criminal syndicates through the suppression of high-profile criminal investigations.
General Mkhwanazi’s claims go beyond mere bureaucratic dysfunction. He asserts that Sibiya has been corruptly demanding control of more than 121 case dockets relating to political assassinations and major organised crimes that were under investigation, only for these cases to be buried in inertia under his supervision. The inference is chilling: that political interference and criminal complicity now sit at the apex of SAPS leadership.
Equally damning are the allegations implicating the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, in questionable associations with shadowy figures — including an ANC comrade Brown Mogotsi and notorious tenderpreneur Vusumuzi Matlala, whose dealings with SAPS and recent criminal allegations demand urgent scrutiny. Matlala, who previously secured a R360 million SAPS contract under highly suspicious circumstances, is currently under investigation for kidnapping, with his home and office recently raided by police. That such an individual remains politically and operationally insulated reflects a contemptuous disregard for public accountability.
It is profoundly disturbing that Minister Mchunu is reported to — not only have interefered with investigations of active criminal cases — have disbanded the specialised political task team, crippled SAPS Crime Intelligence by stalling appointments, and effectively sabotaged efforts to address political violence and organised criminality. This deliberate weakening of operational capacity reeks of ulterior motive — one that may shield political allies and protect criminal enterprises operating with impunity.
General Mkhwanazi’s further claims implicate individuals with access to classified Crime Intelligence systems despite lacking any formal clearance, and suggest that sensitive intelligence is being weaponised to advance criminal syndicate activity — both within and beyond SAPS structures. The notion that the country’s law enforcement architecture is being hijacked to serve the ends of criminal and political elites is not just an institutional failure — it is a national crisis.
We note with grave concern the reference to the transnational drug trade, contract killings — including the 2021 murder of a prominent artist — and the assassination of Transnet contractor Armand Swart, whose murder weapon is allegedly linked to the same criminal network. These links are neither speculative nor tangential: a senior police warrant officer has already been charged in Swart’s murder.
General Mkhwanazi’s courage in speaking out — especially amidst increasing threats to whistleblowers and truth-tellers — must be commended. Yet it also underscores a terrifying reality: when an honest police general must go public to expose rot at the very top, it signals that all internal accountability mechanisms have collapsed.
The South African public, long battered by lawlessness, deserves answers. We demand an immediate, independent commission of inquiry into the SAPS leadership and Ministry of Police. President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot remain silent while some of the senior guardians of law and order morph into protectors of criminality. If these allegations are left uninvestigated, the message is clear: the rule of law is dead, and organised crime now wears the uniform of the state.
Whither the rule of law, indeed?
END
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Issued by:
Tebogo Khaas
Chairperson, Public Interest SA
