Blade Nzimande urges caution and due process in response to Mkhwanazi's serious allegations

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, says allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi must be taken seriously, especially given his seniority in the South African Police Service, but cautions against political opportunism and urges the public to allow due process to unfold.

This comes after Mkhwananzi accused Mchunu of interfering in police operations and maintaining contact with criminal syndicates, aiming to undermine the Political Killings Task Team. 

He alleged that Mchunu, without authorisation from the national or provincial leadership, ordered the disbandment of the unit in March 2025 and the withdrawal of 121 active dockets - many linked to politically motivated assassinations.

“These dockets have been sitting idle at head office ever since,” Mkhwanazi said.

In an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Nzimande made it clear that the seriousness of the allegations warrants a credible response from government and the judiciary: "My own stance really is that the president has issued a statement and made an indication that he takes this matter very seriously. I agree with that, that allegations of this nature are very serious. They need to be taken up."

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation on Sunday evening.

Nzimande says South Africans should wait to hear how the president intends to handle the matter.

"We are hoping that out of that he will come up with a way of actually getting into the depth of this matter and leaving no stone unturned.

''We hope that the president is actually going to come up with mechanisms that are going to get into the bottom of this matter and avoid grandstanding as some political parties are doing, behaving as if all these things have been proven or not."

On allegations involving Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who initially denied any association with controversial figure Oupa “Brown” Mogotsi, only to later admit he knew him, Nzimande said: "I think we need to be cautious on how we treat these things. I don't want a situation now, in the light of these allegations, to act as if conclusively Minister Senzo Mchunu has told a lie, we don't know. That actually needs to be proven itself."

He added: "Yes, this thing, we must get into the bottom of them.

''But let's allow due process to actually go into this. Because maybe the good thing about what the provincial commissioner of the police has done in KZN is to raise these things, which then gives an opportunity for one to actually go right into it."

Nzimande also reflected on historical abuses of state institutions, noting this might be an opportunity to uncover deep-seated problems across the security cluster.

Some of these problems are not new, for instance. We know that in the past, organs of the state have been abused in many ways. The police, in the intelligence in the past, it was being used also even to fight internal party political battles in the ANC and the alliance.

''Maybe this is an opportunity then for the president to provide a way forward that will make us to go into the bottom of those things so that the police, the judiciary, everybody is able to do what is supposed to be done."

He also addressed allegations involving the judiciary itself. 

"Some of the allegations is that some of the judges and some of the magistrates are possibly bought to be able to act in a particular way. This is an opportunity to go to the bottom of this matter. That's my view."

Nzimande urged media and society to avoid sensationalism and let legal processes unfold.  "All what I'm saying, it's important that the media as well, we allow due process to take its course."

Reflecting on his own past surveillance during the Fees Must Fall protests, he added: "I myself have been a victim in the past of being listened to by intelligence agencies, being followed up as to where one goes and so on with a view of actually trying to discredit. I know this very well... But what came out of that in the end? Nothing came out of that."

When asked whether he had counselled Mchunu, Nzimande said: "No. We are colleagues, you know, we come and attend similar meetings, you know, and so on. We haven't, I haven't on my side, you know, because what do I say? Do I say, hey, what is actually going on? He has himself actually said publicly that at an appropriate time he will be able to answer this, and I hope he does."

"These allegations are very serious. But what is the best way of dealing with them? We shouldn’t be tempted and say we choose the juicy part. The minister may have done this or has actually not done this.My stance is that let's give due process to actually get to the bottom of this."

The DA, uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK), and the EFF on have since lodged criminal complaints against Mchunu, accusing him of misleading Parliament and being linked to individuals allegedly involved in the capture of the SAPS. 

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