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Ramaphosa Launches Commission to Probe Police Minister’s Criminal Collusion Claims

Headed by Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the judicial commission will investigate claims of ministerial collusion with criminal syndicates, disbandment of a political killings unit; interim findings are due in three months.

FILE - South Africa's Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, center, visits an abandoned gold mine where miners are rescued from below ground, in Stilfontein, South Africa, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attends a press conference, after his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
President Ramaphosa has opened five commissions since taking office

Overview

  • President Cyril Ramaphosa placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave after KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused him of colluding with a criminal syndicate and obstructing investigations.
  • Mkhwanazi alleges that Mchunu ordered the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team and the removal of more than 100 case files linked to political murders.
  • Law professor Firoz Cachalia has been appointed acting police minister until the commission concludes its work or a permanent replacement is named.
  • The inquiry will examine obstruction, corruption and alleged ties between senior officials and organized crime within the South African Police Service.
  • Analysts say the commission’s findings could reshape power dynamics within the African National Congress ahead of its 2027 leadership conference.