Latest news with #ANC
The Citizen
9 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Disbanded police task team ‘tried to arrest Mchunu and Sibiya'
A month before Mchunu instructed the unit should be closed, it had reportedly begun working on arresting Sibiya. The task team at the centre of a fight between 'on leave' Senzo Mchunu and KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had reportedly tried to arrest the police minister and deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya. Mchunu instructed national police commissioner Fannie Masemola to disband the political killing task team in December 2024, suggesting that it did not add value to policing. However, a month before the closure instructions were given, it had reportedly begun working on arresting Sibiya. City Press sources within the security cluster said task team members had approached prosecutors in Gauteng and later Mpumalanga to secure a warrant of arrest. 'Last month, the police members who were travelling in a Mercedes-Benz V-class Kombi tried to obtain an arrest warrant from the director of public prosecutions for both Sibiya and Mchunu but were turned away. They were told that there was insufficient evidence that warranted arrest,' a source told the paper. Masemola confirmed earlier this month that he had not acted on the order to disband the unit, while it is unclear if his deputy, Sibiya, had done so on his behalf. In explosive allegations two weeks ago, Mkhwanazi claimed the task team had been shut down due to political interference and alleged that top police officials, including Mchunu, were linked to dodgy businessmen and alleged criminal syndicates. Mchunu denied these allegations and a judicial commission of inquiry has been established to investigate the claims. The minister and Sibiya have been placed on special leave amid the allegations. Mchunu was defiant on Friday, telling ANC supporters that black generals in the police had been placed there by the ANC, and suggesting they should be grateful to the party for their positions. 'The ANC appointed black generals so that we also have generals in the army and in the police. They should not trample on this opportunity they were given by the ANC,' Mchunu said. 'They got this opportunity through blood and sweat. There are those who deserved to wear those mantles and camouflage uniforms, but they are dead and they never got that opportunity. They died in the struggle. ALSO READ: MK party takes Ramaphosa to ConCourt over Mchunu special leave decision 'That will be the end of all of us' Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Mchunu also warned against a person acting as both accuser and judge. 'The day South Africa allows one person, whoever it is, to suspect someone and then investigate them, and then become a prosecutor, and then a judge, and issue a verdict all in one place. That would be the direct reversal of what the struggle for justice is about. 'That will be the end of all of us in the country,' he said. Mchunu said the justice system allowed allegations to be made, but had a system in place to test the claims and for the accused to defend themselves. 'It is fair to wait for the commission to deliberate. I support what the president decided. It is fair and square.' Mchunu 'not immune' from prosecution Ramaphosa's decision to place Mchunu on special leave has sparked fierce debate, with the MK party taking the matter to court and calling for the minister to be fired. ALSO READ: MK party takes Ramaphosa to ConCourt over Mchunu special leave decision There are also concerns that while he is on leave, Mchunu's influence in the police may impede the investigation. Parliament's legal advisor, advocate Andile Tetyana, said on Wednesday that Mchunu's leave did not grant him immunity. 'Minister Mchunu is not clothed with legal immunity by virtue of him being on special leave. We know for a fact now that he will be a material witness in the work of the commission and should criminal misconduct be found on his part, he will be charged and prosecuted,' he told parliament on Wednesday. Ramaphosa has defended his decision, saying punitive action against Mchunu would set a dangerous precedent. 'These allegations are serious. They are also untested. 'It is therefore necessary that we establish the facts through an independent, credible and thorough process so that we can ensure accountability and safeguard public confidence in the police service,' he said in Parliament this week. NOW READ: 'Get your popcorn factory ready' — McKenzie willing to testify at the commission into Mkhwanazi allegations
IOL News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Trust in the judiciary: South Africa's crisis of confidence
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga to chair the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system. Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution is politically meaningless, says the writer. Image: Independent Media Archives Prof. Sipho Seepe South Africans live in hope. For seven nerve-wracking days, they waited patiently for President Cyril Ramaphosa to address them on one of the most pressing crises the country has faced since 1994. A week earlier, Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had placed the entire criminal justice system on trial. Mkhwanazi implicated the Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, top brass, correctional services, senior politicians, and members of the judiciary in an intricate web of crime syndicates and drug cartels. The allegations put the country on the knife-edge. This is the stuff that collapses governments. When Ramaphosa finally faced the nation, the address was characteristically and predictably underwhelming. All opposition parties took potshots at Ramaphosa. Those who were disappointed in Ramaphosa's utterances have themselves to blame. First, Ramaphosa is not a man of courage. He has no backbone. Placed in a prickly situation, his instinct is to choose ANC's interests over those of the country. Second, Ramaphosa and the ANC have demonstrated that an oath to uphold and protect the constitution is politically meaningless. Third, Ramaphosa does not come with clean hands. The Phala Phala farmgate scandal must have weighed heavily on his mind. The independent parliamentary panel, comprising luminaries in law, found Ramaphosa to be possibly guilty of serious misconduct of violating section 96(2)(b) by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office. Ramaphosa was also found to have violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business. The panel concluded that. 'Viewed as a whole, the information presented to the Panel, prima facie, establishes that (1) There was a deliberate intention not to investigate the commission of the crimes committed at Phala Phala openly.' The damning findings by the former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo-led panel have not triggered the usual knee-jerk reaction that we have come to expect from the self-appointed custodians of constitutionalism. If anything, they have been conspicuously silent and absent. Confronted by the ever-lingering prospect of possible impeachment of Ramaphosa over the farmgate scandal, the ANC did what it does best. It closed ranks and squashed parliament's attempt to establish a Multi-Party Committee to investigate its leader. An annoyed Thabo Mbeki wrote. 'Are we [the ANC] saying that we suspect or know that he (Ramaphosa) has done something impeachable and therefore decided that we must protect our president at all costs by ensuring that no Multi-Party Committee is formed?...... We acted as we did [as if] there was something to hide'. There is no way that Ramaphosa was going to throw Mchunu, one of his supporters, under the bus without facing serious political repercussions. The establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry was the only safe route open to Ramaphosa. It enables Ramaphosa to postpone addressing a tricky political question of dispensing with Mchunu's services. Be that as it may, the inquiry should not prevent the police from conducting criminal investigations against those implicated in the alleged commission of crimes. Neither does the commission absolve parliament of its oversight responsibility. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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 ✕ With a president burdened by allegations of possible criminality, it would be foolhardy to expect that the recommendations of the Madlanga Judicial Commission of Inquiry will be taken seriously. That the country can be held in suspense by a President who has proved to be a constitutional delinquent reflects the pervasive sense of lack of accountability, paralysis, and resignation that grips the nation. South Africans deserve Ramaphosa. No self-respecting country would allow this. South Africans have expressed a sense of inquiry-fatigue. They have witnessed far too many commissions without any of them leading to discernible positive effects. Some commissions were demonstrably weaponised to target certain individuals disliked by the establishment. Ordinarily, had it not been for the fact that Mkhwanazi implicated judges in the commission of corrupt activities, the establishment of a judicial commission would be unquestionable. Matters become complex if one considers the fact that the very judiciary had decided that South Africans cannot be entrusted with information relating to who funded President Ramaphosa's 2017 ANC presidential candidacy. Mkhwanazi's allegations lend credence to the speculations that the reason the CR17 files are sealed is that they may implicate some members of the judiciary or their family members. Ramaphosa is lucky. Each time he asks the courts to seal matters that relate to him, the courts oblige. This raises several questions. What happened to transparency being the lifeblood of democracy? If Ramaphosa is innocent as he pretends, why rush to the courts for cover? Who are the funders and beneficiaries of the CR17 funds? The tendency to obfuscate issues whenever Ramaphosa is involved played itself out at the Constitutional Court. Instead of zeroing in on the bigger picture, the country's esteemed jurists inordinately debated whether the parliamentary panel had established a prima facie or sufficient evidence. Their colleague, Justice Owen Rogers, would have none of it. He contended. 'A person loses 8.7 million Rand, they would want to know who the investigating officer is, and has it been reported to the police. Is there a case pending? It is a common cause that there wasn't… There was a deliberate decision because the president wanted to keep secret the source of the money; that's the background to where the panel was coming from.' This invariably raises the perennial question: Who judges the judges? The former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng answered that question when he contended that 'one of the things we needed to do as judges is to give reasons for our decisions that an ordinary man can understand. You must be worried when you read a judgment, and you are struggling to make sense of it.... We ought to know that partly, we account to the public through our judgments. Now, if you write in such a way that the public can't even understand what you are doing, what kind of accountability is that? We don't write for lawyers. We don't account to lawyers only; we account to every South African citizen.' The question becomes pertinent given society's growing mistrust of the judiciary. According to the 2018 Afrobarometer survey, 32% of South Africans suspect that judges are involved in corruption. In 2002, the level of mistrust was 15%. Responding to the 2021 Afrobarometer report on the society's loss of confidence in the judiciary, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya argued that 'the judiciary itself needs to do an introspection and check if we are to blame for this change of attitude towards the institution.' The chair of a commission of inquiry must be beyond reproach for the commission to enjoy legitimacy and credibility. For now, we can only speculate. And the picture is not rosy. * Professor Sipho P. Seepe is an Higher Education & Strategy Consultant. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Elect the right people to parliament
KZN police boss Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has risked his career by exposing the damning allegations against the Minister of police, Senzo Mchunu, according to the writer. Image: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers I admire the KZN police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's courage and boldness. Mkhwanazi has risked his career by exposing the damning allegations against the Minister of police, Senzo Mchunu. The KZN commissioner's utterances have divided the nation, though, I must say. I don't want to get into the argument of whether Commissioner Mkhwanazi was right by calling a press conference instead of reporting the matter to the national commissioner of police and the president. He has his reasons why he chose to call the press conference instead. That's a topic for another day. The other year, an ANC politician, Bathabile Dlamini, said most of the members of her political party have smallanyana skeletons in the closet. Many of us treated her utterance as a joke. But it is becoming clearer by the day that she was telling the truth. The joke is on us. It is clear that some, if not most, of our political leaders are in the pockets of drug dealers, criminals and business people. That means the decisions they take are not in the best interest of the poor masses. Instead, they make decisions that favour their handlers at the expense of citizens. Whatever happened to honesty? Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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. Next Stay Close ✕ Let's say, for instance, Mchunu is indeed in the pockets of drug dealers. He, as the minister of police, would make sure that his handlers are safe and untouchable, whilst committing a crime, thus putting the lives of citizens at risk. This goes for other political leaders and ministers as well. It's public knowledge that citizens have lost trust and confidence in our political leaders and political system. This is because they (political leaders) are not honourable, and are not doing anything to redeem themselves. Worse, they don't care that citizens no longer trust them, as long as they get what they want - money and power, for instance. Lastly, it's time citizens stand up and be counted. They must stop complaining and putting their future in the hands of dishonest politicians. They should identify the right people in their communities and elect them to parliament, the legislature and the council. Otherwise, the status quo will remain. Thabile Mange, Kagiso
IOL News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- IOL News
There was never a SETA Selection and Evaluation Panel. Nkabane lied
Minister Nobuhle Nkabane only created the 'independent panel' in March 2025, according to the writer. Image: GCIS The weekend's portfolio committee meeting, which Minister Nobuhle Nkabane bunked out of, heard staggering new details about the cover-up of brazen ANC cadre deployment. The evil system of ANC cadre deployment is a web of corruption. There was never an 'independent panel' which made the SETA board appointments - as with all ANC cadre deployment corruption, it was done behind closed doors by the ANC and its handlers, one being Luvo Makasi. The son of the ANC Chairperson, Gwede Mantashe, a former ANC KZN Premier, former ANC KZN MECs, and ANC office bearers currently serving in internal structures, were not appointed to these lucrative Board jobs by luck or accident. Their appointments were engineered. It is now on record that four out of five named persons have so far denied being on Nkabane's 'independent panel' - only one named person remains to testify. The committee testimony by witnesses, including Advocate Terry Motau, confirmed the conclusion from at least four out of the five people who Nkabane declared to Parliament served on this panel, that the panel did not exist. Nkabane lied. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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. Next Stay Close ✕ The bombshell revelation in the past 24 hours is that the names and applications for persons competing to serve on the SETA Boards were given directly to the Minister personally, in January 2025 (on her request) and not to the panel. This is contrary to Nkabane's claim to Parliament on 30 May that she didn't see the names until after "the panel" advised her. Nkabane only created the 'independent panel' in March 2025, which we deduce from the 'appointment letters' for 'panel members' that she submitted to Parliament. Nkabane had these applications for a full two months before she sent appointment letters to "the panel". Two letters have been supplied to Parliament which show her appointing two different people as 'independent panel' Chairpersons. One, Mabuza Ngubane as Chairperson on the 7th of March, and another, Adv Terry Motau as Chairperson on the 15th of March. Since then, both Motau & Ngubane have denied this, and Nkabane has admitted to Terry Motau that she indeed did not appoint him. These revelations are staggering: Nkabane & the ANC had the CVs and applications for two months before she started her 'independent panel' scheme, She attempted to appoint two different persons as 'Chairperson' - both of whom have testified to not having played any role in "the panel" and Now, at least four out of five persons on the 'independent panel' deny ever serving on the panel. With each passing day, Nkabane's ANC cadre deployment corruption scheme grows more and more brazen. The DA's demand to Luthuli House by way of a PAIA application for information on the Party's role in Nkabane's cadre deployment is yet to be answered. The DA will be holding Luthuli House to the legal timelines of this. The silence and inaction from President Ramaphosa show that an ANC party-wide cover-up may be underway, and the DA will not rest until full accountability follows. Karabo Khakhau MP - DA National Spokesperson
TimesLIVE
14 hours ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Hundreds bid farewell to ‘daughter of District Six' Theresa Solomon
Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis offered his condolences to Solomon's family and friends. He was a young boy when she served her term as mayor. Though he had never met her, Hill-Lewis said, many people spoke highly of her and she had shown courageous leadership as a mayor in a young democracy. 'I knew not only her professional history — her civic activism of the '70s and '80s, her involvement in the UDF, her entry into formal politics as an ANC candidate in 1994, her terms as deputy mayor and mayor of Cape Town and her diplomatic career afterwards — I also knew what people said about her, and how she was regarded in her community. 'This combination of principled toughness coupled with a motherly care and empathy made her a force for good in her community, and for the city of Cape Town. She led this city during a period when no-one had any certainty where our country was headed, and whether our democratic miracle would last. 'I think people forget how new and strange that time was for everyone in South Africa, and how challenging it must've been to steer a metro of this size and complexity through those waters,' Hill-Lewis said. A police parade was held after the service and the band played Abide By Me before the coffin was carried into the hearse. President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a special provincial category two funeral and instructed that the national flag fly at half-mast in the Western Cape on Saturday. After the service, Mbalula told the media that Solomon was a servant leader. 'She was an example of good governance and we are very proud of that,' he said.
