Crime intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo told the Madlanga commission that text messages from cartel leader Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala exposed links to ANC politics and police interference.
He said organised crime thrived through police infiltration and political interference behind the disbandment of the political killings task team
The inquiry heard this happened when the team closed in on syndicates tied to murder suspects
The testimonies of KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and national police boss Fannie Masemola suggest the rot is deep in the police service
Radical transparency and careful reputation rebuilding are crucial for detoxification
The national police commissioner concluded his testimony on Tuesday linking murder suspects Katiso Molefe and Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala to the police minister
The national police commissioner said the political killings task team is still in operation with no clarity on its disbandment
Masemola told the Madlanga commission the disbandment process was ‘by design’ and had begun while he was on leave
Masemola was questioned about whether a police commissioner could refuse directives from the police minister and initially said it depended on the nature of the directive
The KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner said his testimony would deal with political interference by parliamentarians and the national executive
The KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner said the order to disband the team was irrational and irregular
The KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner said his testimony will first deal with the disbanding of political killings task team in the province and then the influence of criminal syndicates in the police service
The commission is yet to secure premises, finalise rules and consult witnesses for the six-month inquiry into criminality and political interference in the criminal justice system
The Patriotic Alliance deputy president was present during the arrest on Monday of Katiso “TK” Molefe, who is accused of murdering Oupa Sefoka, otherwise known as DJ Sumbody
The province’s politics is a marketplace of competing interests, where loyalty is transactional and power is a prize to be bartered
We cannot deny the pervasiveness of corruption but we must subject the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner’s narrative to rigorous scrutiny
The provincial police commissioner’s allegations against the police minister and the higher education minister’s Seta appointments have undermined their reputations
A formal recommendation is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly next Wednesday
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola confirmed that internal investigations were under way into allegations against the deputy commissioner for crime detection
The Human Sciences Research Council report was released a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he had placed Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on a leave of absence amid corruption allegations against him
In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘Our hope for the future depends also on our resolution as a nation in dealing with the scourge of corruption’
Observers have suspected that deep systemic problems lie in the country’s law enforcement
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says he has never met or spoken to Vusimuzi Matlala, despite allegations of political interference in a R360 million South African Police Service tender
The African Transformation Movement claims the police minister sabotaged the team investigating political killings and protected politically connected suspects
Ian Cameron has again called for lifestyle and skills audits on the top ranks of the South African Police Service
KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has accused the minister of having ties to the criminal underworld
There have been frequent reports of police in KZN being involved in gun battles with armed suspects
The lieutenant-general is adamant that delegating the recruitment and structuring of police to SAPS provincial offices is crucial to quality policing
South Africa is a terrifyingly violent country, but giving the police licence to kill can only make things worse
KZN is stable, despite many incidents of civil unrest in recent months, according to the provincial commissioner
Police said that by 10pm on Monday night, at least 550 protestors had been arrested and 24 300 tyres were confiscated
Masemola’s appointment as the country’s top cop comes amid allegations of meddling levelled against Police Minister Bheki Cele.