Latest news with #Selebi
The Citizen
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
The real national dialogue has begun
Explosive claims by Mkhwanazi and reports of court corruption are fueling urgent national debate beyond the ANC's control. President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the media after his meeting with US President Donald Trump. Picture: GCIS We now have a vigorous National Dialogue, but not the kind which President Cyril Ramaphosa wanted. The nation is talking, without guidance from Ramaphosa's team of 'eminent' South Africans which is due to meet on Friday to set the agenda. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has set the tone with allegations against Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, deputy national commissioner Shadrack Sibiya and others. Coupled with the Sunday Times lead story about how the court system is compromised because prosecutors offer out-of-court cash settlements, this has generated uproar about justice in South Africa. Who can deny there are big problems with our justice system? Public trust in the police was already low. It's sinking further. The people are speaking, loudly. They will not be deflected by the ANC's attempts to control and divert the narrative. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula whines about Mkhwanazi's failure to adhere to protocol at media conferences, as if that is the issue. ALSO READ: National dialogue is being used as the beating stick for ANC, DA Thabo Mbeki claims the proposed National Dialogue was his idea. He certainly tried to shut down some conversations, including HIV/ Aids, during his presidential term. Mbeki has a role in the tarnished image of the police. He tried to protect then national commissioner Jackie Selebi. In 2007, Mbeki suspended then national prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli, who wanted to execute a search warrant at Selebi's home. Selebi allegedly had a corrupt relationship with drug dealer Glen Agliotti. Selebi, as head of Interpol, was proud to say Agliotti was his friend, 'finish and klaar'. Under the ANC, there is a history of dodgy relationships with the justice/security cluster. ALSO READ: Steenhuisen warned of 'insubordination' over national dialogue stance — report Books have been written about how the cluster was infiltrated, defanged and corrupted under Mbeki's successor, Jacob Zuma. Crime intelligence and the Hawks were notoriously weakened. This didn't happen by accident. It was deliberate. At the ANC's December 2007 national conference, Zuma-supporting delegates voted by a huge majority to disband the Directorate of Special Operations. Better known as the Scorpions, the DSO was too effective for Zuma's liking, having achieved a conviction rate of over 90% – which is beyond the reach of the current National Prosecuting Authority under Shamila Batohi. Ramaphosa, who was Zuma's deputy from 2014, pledged to clean up. He has failed, despite the R1-billion Zondo commission. The stench of corruption clings to the ANC. ALSO READ: Steenhuisen calls national dialogue a 'band-aid on the ANC's electoral wound' Even during the worst days of the Covid lockdown, cadres were plundering funds allocated to deal with the disaster. The Presidency was not immune from allegations, distinct from Ramaphosa's own Phala Phala 'dollars in the sofa' scandal. Ramaphosa will make reassuring noises about Mkhwanazi's accusations, but nothing will happen. He can dismiss a DA deputy minister on the slightest pretext, but ANC cadres are protected. The proposed National Dialogue is a waste of time and money. It's an ANC-aligned talk shop designed to prop up an ailing party. Chasing a mirage of ANC unity, Ramaphosa is incapable of acting firmly against comrades. If he did, the fractious ANC would collapse because it is held together by corruption. We need to talk about ANC corruption, a topic Ramaphosa has proved unwilling and unable to deal with. Don't let him set or control the agenda. NOW READ: 'Talk is two-way street' says Helen Zille as she slams National Dialogue
The Citizen
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Allegations against Mchunu echo Selebi scandal
With suspensions, commissions, and political shielding on the table, will Mkhwanazi meet the same fate as Vusi Pikoli? Towards the end of former president Thabo Mbeki's rule, explosive allegations were made against then national police commissioner Jackie Selebi. Selebi was not only a top ruling party member, but the former United Nations ambassador was also at the time president of Interpol, the international crime fighting organisation. When the head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Vusi Pikoli, attempted to effect arrest and search warrants against Selebi, it resulted in his own suspension and later firing. On Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made similarly explosive allegations of possible criminal conduct by sitting Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu and head of this country's detectives, Shadrack Sibiya. Mkhwanazi made the public allegations that much like Selebi back in the day, the top politician and cop have direct relationships with bosses of crime syndicates who have been linked to drug cartels and assassinations. Selebi was temporarily shielded from arrest by the immediate suspension of Pikoli by Mbeki, whom, it was alleged, was a close friend and confidant of the police commissioner. It is widely accepted that President Cyril Ramaphosa owes his first term as president to, among others, Mchunu and former deputy president David Mabuza who died last week. And the question uppermost in everyone's mind is: will Ramaphosa follow in Mbeki's footsteps to first shield his political ally Mchunu and, second and most importantly, put in motion steps that might result in the end of the career of Mkhwanazi? It is not every day that a provincial police commissioner alleges that his political principal has been caught out in a lie to parliament about being an associate of an alleged crime syndicate boss. The easiest way to make all these unsavoury allegations go away is to get rid of the one making the allegations, by either removing them from their position or, as is common in mafia movies, make him an offer he cannot refuse – resign or be killed. ALSO READ: 'Police are the chief criminal syndicate': Saps R120bn budget criticised by MPs The third option, a favoured method in this country's law enforcement, is to suspend and charge him with trumped-up violations of the police's code of conduct. The president's way of shielding those close to him politically is to 'apply his mind' to matters. It will not shock anyone if he institutes a commission of inquiry into Mkhwanazi's allegations, while Mchunu and Sibiya continue in their jobs and Mkhwanazi is sidelined. Mkhwanazi's allegations, if not proven untrue in an official manner, will confirm that the descent of this country into a mafia state is in full swing. It is known that kidnappings have now become an accepted daily occurrence. The recent assassination of financial forensic investigator in the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality showed that the murder of Babita Deokaran under similar circumstances was not the first, nor the last. These crimes will continue because those in charge protect the criminals. There are calls for Mkhwanazi to follow 'the proper' police channels and not act 'rogue'. Those people must ask Pikoli what following the proper channels did for him and his career. Mchunu and Sibiya can easily refute the allegations made by Mkhwanazi under oath. And if they prove him to be a loose cannon who is out to destroy their careers, he will pay the price. But people deserve to know that this country is not being run by criminals with a badge. NOW READ: 'We don't want him to be a pop star': Allegations by KZN police commissioner Mkhwanazi sparks uproar
