‘Lives controlled by crime’: Explosive allegations hit South African police
Mkhwanazi has become a hero to many South Africans
The government is under pressure as a provincial police commissioner accuses the country's police chief of colluding with criminal gangs.
When Patricia Blows heard a senior police official’s explosive allegations against South Africa’s political and law enforcement elite last week, her thoughts went straight to the stalled investigation into her son’s killing nine years ago.
Angelo, an apprentice boilermaker, was about to turn 28 when he was shot in an apparent robbery on a Sunday afternoon in March 2016 while walking home from work in Langlaagte, Johannesburg.
To this day, the investigation has gone nowhere despite Blows providing the police with evidence they said they lacked, including witness statements she collected herself.
The lack of progress in the case began to make sense last week when the police commissioner in coastal KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, claimed he had uncovered a crime syndicate involving politicians, senior police officers, correctional services officials, prosecutors, the judiciary and businesspeople in his province.
According to Mkhwanazi, speaking at a news conference on July 6, the systemic corruption rises all the way to the country’s police minister, Senzo Mchunu, whom he accused of disbanding a task force set up to investigate political killings in KZN to protect his shady associates.
Like millions of South Africans, Blows was outraged by Mkhwanazi’s allegations – but not entirely surprised.
“I immediately thought of our battle for justice. I just couldn’t find an open door. It still hurts like hell,” said Blows, a community activist from Blackheath on the Cape Flats, a part of Cape Town plagued by violent drug-trafficking gangs.
“I had fresh hope in Mchunu. Now this? Then doubt drifted in, and I had an overwhelming fear for [Mkhwanazi’s] safety,” Blows said from her suburb on the outskirts of the Cape Flats, where a police station came under attack about a month ago, presumably in retaliation for the arrest of a local crime boss.
‘Hands off Mkhwanazi’
Mkhwanazi’s revelations triggered an outpouring of support from crime-weary South Africans and politicians alike, who almost universally admire his no-nonsense approach to crime. Last month, after a series of police shootouts with criminals, he was quoted as saying he cared more about impact than strategy.
His popularity reflects a national malaise as well as a regional one that is particular to volatile KZN. The province regularly features among the country’s crime hotspots and is notorious for its history of political violence that dates back to the 1980s when the apartheid regime fomented tensions among the Black supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) and its rival Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in an attempt to undermine the planned transition to democracy.
National quarterly statistics for January to March indicated a decrease in violent crime compared with the same quarter in 2024. Murders decreased by 12.4 percent to 5 727, or an average of 64 per day, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
Still, violent crime is a major problem. According to the World Population Review, South Africa has the fifth highest crime index in the world, following Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and Haiti.
South Africa also ranks 82nd in the world on the corruption perception index compiled by the NGO Transparency International.
In this context, Mkhwanazi has become a hero to many South Africans who are fed up with the government’s failure to address chronic social ills.
Not even an investigation into his conduct in March could dampen the support for Mkhwanazi. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate dropped the case after a “Hands off Mkhwanazi” campaign, which was revived on social media after his July 6 news conference.
Dressed in special operations fatigues and surrounded by armed guards, Mkhwanazi told journalists: “I am combat ready. I will die for this badge. I will not back down.”
Ramaphosa’s legacy at risk
Much to the frustration of many South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the unfolding crisis has been in sharp contrast to Mkhwanazi’s gung-ho attitude.
In a brief and carefully crafted televised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa announced that Mchunu had been placed on special leave and he would establish a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the allegations raised by Mkhwanazi.
Kagiso Pooe, a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance in Johannesburg, was hoping for Mchunu to be suspended or fired and the country’s seemingly compromised security structure to be overhauled, especially after the recent arrest of a senior crime intelligence official and several officers for fraud.
Before local government elections next year, Pooe believes the last thing Ramaphosa wants is to alienate an ally like Mchunu, who has a strong support base in the highly contested KZN and helped secure Ramaphosa’s presidency in 2017.
“He doesn’t rock the boat. It’s not in his nature,” Pooe said, pointing out that Ramaphosa is determined to accomplish what no president has managed to do since 1994 – complete a second term in office.
“I give the president 33 percent, which is the average score for everything he does,” he said.
Angelo, an apprentice boilermaker, was about to turn 28 when he was shot in an apparent robbery on a Sunday afternoon in March 2016 while walking home from work in Langlaagte, Johannesburg.
To this day, the investigation has gone nowhere despite Blows providing the police with evidence they said they lacked, including witness statements she collected herself.
The lack of progress in the case began to make sense last week when the police commissioner in coastal KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, claimed he had uncovered a crime syndicate involving politicians, senior police officers, correctional services officials, prosecutors, the judiciary and businesspeople in his province.
According to Mkhwanazi, speaking at a news conference on July 6, the systemic corruption rises all the way to the country’s police minister, Senzo Mchunu, whom he accused of disbanding a task force set up to investigate political killings in KZN to protect his shady associates.
Like millions of South Africans, Blows was outraged by Mkhwanazi’s allegations – but not entirely surprised.
“I immediately thought of our battle for justice. I just couldn’t find an open door. It still hurts like hell,” said Blows, a community activist from Blackheath on the Cape Flats, a part of Cape Town plagued by violent drug-trafficking gangs.
“I had fresh hope in Mchunu. Now this? Then doubt drifted in, and I had an overwhelming fear for [Mkhwanazi’s] safety,” Blows said from her suburb on the outskirts of the Cape Flats, where a police station came under attack about a month ago, presumably in retaliation for the arrest of a local crime boss.
‘Hands off Mkhwanazi’
Mkhwanazi’s revelations triggered an outpouring of support from crime-weary South Africans and politicians alike, who almost universally admire his no-nonsense approach to crime. Last month, after a series of police shootouts with criminals, he was quoted as saying he cared more about impact than strategy.
His popularity reflects a national malaise as well as a regional one that is particular to volatile KZN. The province regularly features among the country’s crime hotspots and is notorious for its history of political violence that dates back to the 1980s when the apartheid regime fomented tensions among the Black supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) and its rival Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in an attempt to undermine the planned transition to democracy.
National quarterly statistics for January to March indicated a decrease in violent crime compared with the same quarter in 2024. Murders decreased by 12.4 percent to 5 727, or an average of 64 per day, according to the Institute for Security Studies.
Still, violent crime is a major problem. According to the World Population Review, South Africa has the fifth highest crime index in the world, following Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and Haiti.
South Africa also ranks 82nd in the world on the corruption perception index compiled by the NGO Transparency International.
In this context, Mkhwanazi has become a hero to many South Africans who are fed up with the government’s failure to address chronic social ills.
Not even an investigation into his conduct in March could dampen the support for Mkhwanazi. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate dropped the case after a “Hands off Mkhwanazi” campaign, which was revived on social media after his July 6 news conference.
Dressed in special operations fatigues and surrounded by armed guards, Mkhwanazi told journalists: “I am combat ready. I will die for this badge. I will not back down.”
Ramaphosa’s legacy at risk
Much to the frustration of many South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the unfolding crisis has been in sharp contrast to Mkhwanazi’s gung-ho attitude.
In a brief and carefully crafted televised address on Sunday, Ramaphosa announced that Mchunu had been placed on special leave and he would establish a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the allegations raised by Mkhwanazi.
Kagiso Pooe, a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance in Johannesburg, was hoping for Mchunu to be suspended or fired and the country’s seemingly compromised security structure to be overhauled, especially after the recent arrest of a senior crime intelligence official and several officers for fraud.
Before local government elections next year, Pooe believes the last thing Ramaphosa wants is to alienate an ally like Mchunu, who has a strong support base in the highly contested KZN and helped secure Ramaphosa’s presidency in 2017.
“He doesn’t rock the boat. It’s not in his nature,” Pooe said, pointing out that Ramaphosa is determined to accomplish what no president has managed to do since 1994 – complete a second term in office.
“I give the president 33 percent, which is the average score for everything he does,” he said.
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