Cele was testifying before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations of criminal infiltration, corruption, and political interference in the criminal justice system.
The inquiry follows explosive allegations made in July by KwaZulu-Natal provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who implicated current Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, now on special leave, in what he claimed were attempts to interfere with police operations.
Cele, who served as Minister of Police from 2018 to 2024, told Members of Parliament that the situation within the police service had deteriorated alarmingly, pointing to deep divisions and dysfunction at senior levels of leadership.
“Something very serious and sad,” he said. “The pain I feel when I see the Commissioner writing an affidavit against the Deputy Commissioner, Mkhwanazi lambasting everybody, Sibiya’s raid, I don’t think if it were a movie, I’d finish it.”
Cele’s remarks add to mounting concern about instability within SA’s law enforcement structures, which have been plagued by allegations of political interference, internal sabotage, and the erosion of public trust.
The Ad Hoc Committee continues to hear testimony from senior officials across the criminal justice sector as it seeks to determine the extent of criminal and political infiltration within key state institutions.
–SABC/ChannelAfrica–
