KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Image: File
THE fate of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, remains in limbo amid ongoing confusion about the status of an Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) inquiry into his conduct.
Last week, reports surfaced that the probe against Mkhwanazi was withdrawn, prompting his supporters to call off a march in Durban on Friday. The march would have started at Curries Fountain Stadium and ended at the Provincial Police Headquarters on Bram Fisher Avenue in Durban Central.
However, the IPID's spokesperson Lizzy Suping was quoted in the media as saying, “The IPID's position as per our statement released on the 16th of March 2025 is that we are not going to engage on the matter until our investigation is concluded.”
The probe stemmed from allegations that Mkhwanazi interfered in the 2023 arrest of a senior Correctional Services official in Richards Bay.
Although the IPID initially requested a statement from Mkhwanazi, they later advised him to delay his response, leading to public speculation that the inquiry had been shelved.
This was viewed in many quarters as the halting of the investigation against him, which appeared not to be the case.
During a media briefing on Monday, Mkhwanazi was non-committal when asked about the probe, flatly refusing to answer questions pertaining to the IPID investigation.
Amid these developments, one of the march organisers, Ntokozo Sibisi, lashed out and accused the IPID of wanting to ambush Mkhwanazi and arrest him.
“As we said before, this investigation is politically motivated and is aimed at derailing Mkhwanazi from the good work that he is doing to fight crime in the province,” said Mkhize.
Mkhize – a Durban-based businessman – said they would take to the streets to stave off any attempts to remove Mkhwanazi from his position.
He claimed that reports indicated the probe was called off as deliberate move by Mkhwanazi’s opponents to hoodwink his many supporters into believing he had been left alone.
“We are monitoring every possible strategy that his enemies are likely to use to make us drop our guard. If they ever try to humiliate Mkhwanazi, we will defend him with all that we have,” warned Mkhize.
Nathi Mbatha, the chairperson of the Abantu Business Umbrella, echoed the same sentiments.
“The only thing they want is to remove Mkhwanazi because he is about to expose some senior politicians of corrupt activities, which would likely land them in jail. We will defend Mkhwanazi as Abantu Business Umbrella because we believe that he has done a sterling job since he took over as the provincial commissioner,” said Mbatha.
Support for Mkhwanazi continues to be on the rise, with many appreciating his no-nonsense crime-busting approach, which they viewed as an effective response in the crime-ridden province of KZN.
Political parties such as the EFF, IFP, uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), and ATM have publicly voiced their support. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has also sided with Mkhwanazi.
Nthabeleng Molefe, provincial secretary of Popcru in KZN, had previously expressed her disappointment with the IPID’s actions, accusing the police watchdog unit of having ulterior motives to undermine Mkhwanazi.
She said: “We’re disappointed by IPID’s actions. It’s clear they have an agenda to persecute Mkhwanazi and distract him from fighting crime.
The IPID has become a spokesperson for criminals. Their actions will hinder police efforts in the battle against crime.”
Meanwhile, while during yesterday's press-briefing session in Durban, Mkhwanazi refused to answer questions relating to the IPID investigation yesterday, and consistently maintained that he was innocent and was fully prepared to cooperate with the investigation.
During the session he said the SAPS had fine-tuned their crime fighting strategy ahead of the busy Easter long weekend starting on Friday.
“We see a lot of visitors coming here, which then increases the level of crime and incidents,” said Mkhwanazi, adding: “The plan focuses on making sure that we not only deal with hardcore crime or criminal activities, but we deal with the soft things like public drinking, that contribute to crime in general.”
He added: “Where we collect information about events that are going to take place, gatherings that are going to take place as well as potential criminal activities that are going to take place.”
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