South African president suspends police minister and launches probe into alleged links to criminals

(AP): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday suspended the country’s police minister and announced an investigation into allegations he has been colluding with criminal syndicates. Ramaphosa’s actions follow allegations made by a top police official in the KwaZulu-Natal province, Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, that Senzo Mchunu and deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya had interfered with sensitive investigations. Ramaphosa said the probe will be headed by a judge and announced Firoz Cachalia as the acting minister of police.

“The commission will investigate the role of current or former senior officials in certain institutions who may have aided or abetted the alleged criminal activity, failed to act on credible intelligence or internal warnings, or benefited financially or politically from a syndicate’s operations,” Ramaphosa said during a televised address Sunday.

During a press briefing last Sunday, Mkhwanazi also alleged that Mchunu and Sibiya disbanded a crucial crime unit tasked with investigating repeated politically motivated killings in the province after it was revealed that crime syndicates were behind the killings. He alleged that an investigation by the unit showed that some politicians, law enforcement, SAPS (South African Police Service), metro police, and correctional services prosecutors judiciary were being controlled by drug cartels as well as businesspeople.

The investigation would include some of the country’s crime and justice agencies, including the National Prosecuting Authority and the State Security Agency, Ramaphosa said. Most opposition parties on Sunday criticized Ramaphosa for not firing Mchunu instead of placing him on a leave of absence. “This was an opportunity to take South Africans into confidence and to deal with these issues decisively, instead he calls for a commission of inquiry and expects South Africans to be patient when people are dying on a daily basis,” said Nhlamulo Ndhlela, spokesperson of official opposition MK Party.