Today marks one year since KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made explosive allegations of criminal infiltration within South Africa’s (SA) criminal justice system.
July 6, 2025, Mkhwanazi, flanked by heavily armed and masked police officers, held an unprecedented media briefing in which he alleged that drug cartels had infiltrated key institutions within the criminal justice system.
Central to his claims was the allegation that the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team by then Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who is currently on a leave of absence, was intended to protect criminal syndicates allegedly linked to his political ambitions.
The allegations sent shockwaves across the country and prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system, now widely known as the Madlanga Commission.
A year later, the commission continues to hear evidence from senior police officials, intelligence operatives and other witnesses, as it seeks to determine the extent of the alleged criminal networks and political interference within SA’s law enforcement and justice institutions.
–SABC–
