Public Interest SA Calls for Responsible Leadership and Evidence-Based Discourse within SAPS

Johannesburg, 17 January 2026 — Public Interest SA notes with concern the recent testimony delivered before the Parliamentary ad-hoc committee investigating allegations raised by the SAPS KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. In the course of these proceedings, the Divisional Commissioner for Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, asserted that close to 80 per cent of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Gauteng are working in concert with criminal networks.

While Public Interest SA fully acknowledges that there are serious and well-documented cases involving senior SAPS officials implicated in criminal conduct, the scale of the assertion advanced by Lieutenant General Khumalo is, on its face, implausible. To credibly arrive at such a conclusion would have required a comprehensive vetting or investigative exercise encompassing more than 35,000 SAPS members stationed in Gauteng — an undertaking for which no evidence or methodology has been disclosed, and which appears highly improbable.

Although these remarks may not have been motivated by malice, they are nevertheless deeply regrettable. Broad, unsubstantiated claims of this nature risk unfairly maligning the overwhelming majority of professional, ethical, and law-abiding men and women in blue who continue to serve under extremely challenging conditions. Such statements have the potential to erode morale within SAPS, weaken public confidence in law enforcement, and ultimately undermine efforts aimed at strengthening the rule of law.

Public Interest SA therefore calls upon Lieutenant General Khumalo, as a senior leader within SAPS, to either substantiate his claims with clear evidence and records of the process undertaken to reach these conclusions, or to withdraw the statement. Responsible leadership demands precision, accountability, and restraint — particularly at a time when public trust in policing institutions is both fragile and indispensable.

Public Interest SA remains committed to supporting genuine, evidence-based efforts to confront corruption within law enforcement, while equally defending the integrity and dignity of those officers who serve the public with honour.

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Issued by: Tebogo Khaas