Pretoria – KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi explained on Friday why he wore a military-style uniform during a 6 July press briefing where he accused senior officials and politicians of involvement in organised crime. Testifying before the Madlanga Commission at Brigitte Mabandla Justice College, Mkhwanazi said the attire reflected the severity of threats he perceived within the South African Police Service (Saps) and government structures.
Mkhwanazi, flanked by armed officers at the media briefing, said his team aimed to present themselves as a “force” confronting deep-rooted corruption. “The threat is infiltrating Crime Intelligence, Parliament and the executive authority… You really realise that you can no longer wear a tie and face this fight,” he told the commission. He likened the criminal activity to terrorism, arguing it aimed to take over government through illegal means rather than the ballot.
The commissioner said the briefing was intended as both a psychological and physical signal to politicians, police officers, and drug squads that they were prepared to face corruption directly. “As a Zulu man, angim’nyonyobeli umuntu, ngimqonda ngqo – I don’t sneak up on a person, I face them directly,” Mkhwanazi said. He also credited the press conference with prompting the reinstatement of 121 previously shelved criminal dockets.
Mkhwanazi further accused former Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, now South African Ambassador to France, of attempting to block disciplinary proceedings against former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli. Recalling his time as acting national commissioner between 2011 and 2012, Mkhwanazi described being summoned to Mthethwa’s home and pressured to halt Mdluli’s prosecution, despite advice from the late Inspector-General of Intelligence Faith Radebe to reinstate the charges.
“I said to the minister… you are wrong, I’m not going to do that,” Mkhwanazi told the commission. He later contacted then-President Jacob Zuma, after which Riah Phiyega was appointed national commissioner, leaving him sidelined for the remainder of the year.
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