Mkhwanazi alleges political involvement in cases being investigated by the police
Mkhwanazi says a total of 436 suspects were arrested and charged, citing that some of the firearms confiscated are also linked directly to the political related killings.
FILE: KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza/EWN
DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has made allegations of political involvement in cases being investigated by the police service.
Mkhwanazi is currently speaking at a media briefing in Durban on political killings and a series of investigations.
Clad in military attire flanked by armed security detail, Mkhwanazi says since the establishment of the task team in 2018 — it has investigated a total of 612 case dockets - including murder, attempted murders, intimidation and conspiracy to commit murder.
Mkhwanazi said that a total of 436 suspects were arrested and charged, citing that some of the firearms confiscated are also linked directly to the politically related killings.
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He alleges that 121 case dockets that were under investigation were taken away from the task team as directed by a Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya.
He said that Sibiya was acting on the instructions of the Minister of Police to disband the team.
He says this was done without the authority of the national police commissioner and that he was never informed.
"These case dockets since March have been sitting at the head office ever since without any investigation or work being done on them. Five of these dockets had instructions to arrest perpetrators but nothing is being done because Sibiya, being instructed by the minister or well executing the instruction of the minister, withdrew all these dockets and are sitting in the archive in his office in Pretoria, God knows why."
The KZN police commissioner said that he is proud of the investigations conducted.