Steenhuisen calls for Ramaphosa to act against Mchunu as he did with Whitfield

DA leader John Steenhuisen said President Cyril Ramaphosa should act on the allegations made by KZN Police Commissioner Lt Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi as he did with DA MP Deputy Minister of Trade, Andrew Whitfield.

Ramaphosa fired Whitfield after an unauthorised trip.

Steenhuisen spoke to the media on the sidelines of the post-budget vote media briefing on Tuesday.

However, Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa set a very high bar for his cabinet when he sacked Andrew Whitfield for travelling abroad without permission.

“I would at least think that this requires a full parliamentary inquiry through the committee.I think Mkhwanazi should be given and allowed to come to parliament and set out these allegations.

“But then I think there needs to be a full and thorough investigation,” he said.

Steenhuisen said Mkhwanazi was not a person to make wild and unsubstantiated allegations.

“I was completely shocked by these allegations. I've known Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi for many years. I'm a KZN resident and citizen as well and I've known him for his work there.

“I don't think he is somebody who makes wild, unsubstantiated allegations, and so I regard the allegations that he's made incredibly seriously,” he said.

Steenhuisen said it was “very” serious that top politicians and top police officials were accused of colluding with organised crime.

“This is a very serious allegation, and it frankly requires, I think, slightly more action than what we have seen to date,” he said.

The minister added: “It cannot be that we in South Africa are suffering with a huge crime problem and have this allegation that underworld kingpins are being protected by the very people who should be at the forefront of putting them in jail.”

Steenhuisen’s remarks come after the commissioner alleged that top law enforcement figures — including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya — are entangled in a powerful syndicate backed by drug cartels and influential business interests.

No country in the world would tolerate this, nor should there be a government that tolerates this, Steenhuisen said.

“I think the sooner the situation is clarified, the better it's going to be. But just simply ducking and weaving on this one isn't going to cut it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said he will look closely into the matter when he returns to the country.

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