'My fellow South Africans': Family meeting called to decide Senzo Mchunu's fate
This also included politically connected figures.
The meeting follows a bombshell press conference by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who accused Mchunu of executive overreach, specifically blaming him for orchestrating the task team's shutdown.
The televised address, scheduled for 7pm on 13 July, will provide clarity on explosive claims made by Mkhwanazi during a media briefing held on 6 July.
The Commissioner's remarks reportedly implicate high-ranking officials within both the South African Police Service and the political sphere..
Over the past week, the President has held consultations with key stakeholders and security officials.
According to a statement from the Presidency, Ramaphosa will now 'take the nation into his confidence' following these engagements.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ He added that the individuals who were made national commissioners without being career police officers were appointed primarily, seemingly, because of their personal and political loyalties to whoever was the President of the time. 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And again, and again, in the case of others, it seems to have been a mistake that just repeated itself,' Africa said. She added that even when someone from the private sector was brought in to the SAPS at a senior level (not as a commissioner) for a short period, on the assumption that he would deal with the problems, however, they could not be sorted out. She said over the last couple of years, at the very least, professional police have been given the opportunity. Africa highlighted that it is the problem of the entire public service to assume that managerialism is all that is needed. Asked whether the country was starting to see police officers, defence officials, actually entering the political sphere, she said what's happening at the moment shouldn't be misdiagnosed. 'I think this is, in fact, symptomatic of the high levels of trust or mistrust, and the kind of breakdown. So, all I am seeing is the fact that there's conflict between senior officials and within the departments, between the ministers and senior officials, and sometimes even between ministers, as you saw, in the July 2021 unrest, where even the ministers were at loggerheads with each other. 'The conditions actually are, I suppose, such that with the breakdown of authority, of trust, of systems, it's enterprising that these pronouncements are made, just because the very senior officials don't seem to trust them sufficiently, and I think this is the crisis that we are facing,' Africa said. Cardinal Stephen Brislin, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, said we are so used to having these sorts of scandals that there is a danger that is not taken seriously enough. 'The police services are there for the protection of people to protect their rights, to protect life itself, to protect resources, and to give recourse for people to justice, so that people may access justice. And when there is a breakdown, as has been alleged, this really breaks the very fabric of society,' he said. 'There are many good men and women in the police services, and we truly appreciate what they do and the integrity they have, but we also appreciate the suffering and the pain that they must be going through because of all this turmoil within the security forces,' he said. 'In this case, it is just very, very important that we know what the findings of the commission are. This investigator Commission, which we understand how they assess the allegations and who is implicated in any wrongdoing. And we also need to see action being taken about this. It cannot just be left to dwindle and nothing actually happens because that will simply ensure that the problems will continue into the future and that things will deteriorate even further,' Brislin said. He added that the church can become a very important voice in this process, together with other organisations and civil society.
