FILE PHOTO | Police Minister Senzo Mchunu testifies before the Ad Hoc Committee on Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations. Picture: Justice and Security Cluster/X KwaZulu-Natal acting deputy provincial commissioner for crime detection Anthony Gopaul has described how suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s visit to a police station in ANC regalia created an uncomfortable situation for officers. Gopaul testified at the Madlanga commission on Monday.
He said the visit took place in March 2025, during a by-election campaign in the area. The ward held a by-election after Doshie Govender resigned from the ANC to join the MK party. “During the campaigning, there were a number of high-profile ANC officials who would come and support the ANC candidate trying to campaign for the ANC.
One of them was the minister,” explained Gopaul. “On 31 March 2025, after campaigning, the minister went to a local police station and told the station commander that while he was on the campaign trail, he was taken to some people who complained extensively about Govender. “He said the complaints he had received were that the police were doing nothing and were under Govender’s control and that Govender and his family get away with atrocities.
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“There was a housebreaking and theft case opened at the time. The minister told the station commander he would be returning to the station in the afternoon and asked management to bring the docket and explain to him why Govender had not been arrested. The complainant was a member of the public, and the suspect was Govender’s son.” Gopaul said after being informed of Mchunu’s visit, he called provincial police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
The commissioner then instructed Gopaul to attend the meeting and not leave junior officers to handle the matter. “I went to the police station and found the minister with a few of the ANC officials, all of them clad in ANC regalia and they were in the office of the station commander,” explained Gopaul.
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