South Africa – Pretoria – 05 December 2025. Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu testifying at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Under sharp questioning from evidence leader Adv.
Mahlape Sello, Mchunu acknowledged that he relied heavily onFacebook posts by Mashale, a letter from de Haas, and complaints by Sarah Burger, without engaging a single one of them before shutting down the unit on December 31, 2024. “Without engaging necessarily with the content of Miss Mashale’s complaint… I see that you rely on what she published on Facebook,” Sello said. “Did you have an opportunity to engage with her about the contents of her Facebook postings?” Sello asked.
“Both Miss de Haas, in fact all three of them — de Haas, Mashale, Sarah Berger — I didn’t meet any one of them. I took what I was reading.” When asked whether he tested the veracity of Mashale’s claims, Mchunu offered only: “Not necessarily,” referencing a single instance involving alleged camps in Mpumalanga. He said that SAPS and “other security units” later confirmed the existence of camps, but conceded that he never informed Mashale he was verifying the claim.
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Sello pressed further: “So it is on that basis that you decided the claims she makes on Facebook about SAPS no longer require verification — you accept them at face value? Is that your position?”
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