ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji has called for decisive action and arrests in the wake of serious allegations about political interference in policing and links between senior officials and drug syndicates.
Speaking to media outside the home of late former deputy president David Mabuza in Barberton on Sunday, Malatji expressed outrage at what he described as a culture of populist statements over accountability and enforcement.
Malatji was reacting to bombshell claims made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
In a televised briefing, Mkhwanazi accused police minister Senzo Mchunu, an alleged associate named as Brown Mogotsi and deputy national commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya of interfering in police work. He alleged the recently disbanded task team probing political killings had unmasked a syndicate controlled by a drug cartel that involves politicians, law enforcement, businesspeople, prosecutors and the judiciary.
“We don’t want commissioners who are becoming politicians. We want commissioners who act,” said Malatji.
“His role as a commissioner of police is to arrest those who do crime. We don’t want him to be a pop star. If he wants to contest politics, he must come to branches of the ANC and contest. But if he wants to be a commissioner, he must arrest those who do crime. We don’t want statements, we want arrests.”
Malatji also made it clear no one should be above the law, not even the police minister.
“If the minister of police is doing crime, he must be arrested. We are not a lawless country,” he said.
While Malatji’s comments sparked support from some, many social media users criticised them as hasty, given the serious and unproven nature of the allegations.
Responding to the public reaction on X, Malatji doubled down.
“It’s heartbreaking to learn through allegations that some leaders in our country are either working with drug lords, part of drug syndicates or protecting drug criminals,” he said.
“As someone who despises drugs, this is deeply painful. Drugs have ravaged our youth, creating unemployed and unemployable young people across South Africa.
“To hear certain leaders might be complicit in syndicates is infuriating and hurtful,” Malatji said.
“We must take a stand to clean this country and remove all drug dealers and their enablers in all corridors of power.”
Mchunu and Sibiya said the allegations levelled against them by Mkhwanazi are without merit.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described the situation as “a matter of grave national security concern”. He pledged to outline a course of action on his return from the Brics leaders summit in Brazil.
TimesLIVE
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