POLICE PROBESHow Mkhwanazi’s allegations against Mchunu stack up almost six months laterBy Vincent Cruywagen

Sidelined Police Minister Senzo Mchunu – battered by a torrent of allegations now under the microscope of the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s ad hoc committee – could face further pressure when the commission submits its first report to the President this week. President Cyril Ramaphosa hasreportedly praisedSenzo Mchunu for taking special leave as police minister and thenstepping asidefrom the ANC’s top structures following KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations before he faced any official charges. The Madlanga Commission is due to deliver an interim report to Ramaphosa on 17 December.

Almost six months after Mkhwanazi unleashed a series of staggering accusations against Mchunu and fellow SAPS officers on 6 July 2025 – with the sidelined minister, Mkhwanazi and a list of other officials having testified at both the Madlanga Commission and Parliament’s ad hoc committee – how do the allegations stack up? Parliament’s ad hoc committee is running parallel to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating the same accusations of criminal infiltration into law enforcement. Both hearings are in response to Mkhwanazi’s claims.

Here are the allegations against Mchunu, the evidence led so far, and Mchunu’s defences. Mkhwanazi’s main accusations about Mchunu were that on 31 December 2024, he issued a directive to disband the Political Killings Task Team(PKTT), set up in 2018, toshield politically connected members of a criminal syndicatefrom prosecution. He disbanded the team without consulting national police commissioner Fannie Masemola.

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In December, Mchunu told the Madlanga Commission that as far back as 2019, a work study report had recommended integrating the PKTT into the SAPS Murder and Robbery Unit. He handed the commission an envelope containing the names of eight individuals who have made serious allegations against the PKTT – including claims of murder – stressing that their identities cannot be made public for safety and security reasons.

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