Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi: Panyaza Lesufi had good intentions, but AmaPanyaza are illegal
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi may have had noble intentions when he established the provincial crime-fighting unit known as the Crime Prevention Wardens — or “AmaPanyaza” — but the initiative is unlawful, according to KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Mkhwanazi made the remarks before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, which is probing the explosive allegations he recently made against senior officials.
He told MPs that he had strongly objected during a meeting of the SAPS Board of Commissioners (BOC) to the creation of the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens, arguing that the structure was not sanctioned by law — a view later supported by SAPS Legal Services.
The BOC, he explained, is the highest decision-making body of the SAPS, comprising all provincial commissioners, divisional commissioners, and the acting national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks.
“When the premier of Gauteng (Lesufi), with good intentions to fight crime in the province of Gauteng, started a unit that by law should not exist — the Mapanya-panya that is famous. I raised that at the BOC and I said this is illegal,” said Mkhwanazi.
“It is against the law, and the premier must be advised. He has got good intentions but it cannot be done. The law doesn’t allow it. The very senior managers in the police said no, just leave the premier alone. At the next BOC, Legal Services came up with a presentation and they argued the same thing I had argued.
“They presented that what has been done in Gauteng is against the law, it should not be allowed. This was when there was an engagement at executive level, between the minister and the premier at the time,” he said.
Mkhwanazi told the committee that despite his objections, training of the wardens had gone ahead.
“My argument in the BOC and the support from Legal Services was not taken seriously. So they continued with the training. But because Legal Services had taken note of it, they went to the minister and said, minister you cannot sign this off, it is against the law.
“Obviously, the premier of Gauteng was not very pleased that Minister (Bheki) Cele did not want to sign them. As a result, to date, that unit, that group of members, could not be incorporated into the Police Act. They are still there in Gauteng, I’m not sure whether they are enforcing the law, or what they are doing in Gauteng, but legally they are not supposed to be there,” Mkhwanazi emphasised.
In 2023, IOL reported that then Justice Minister Ronald Lamola granted the Crime Prevention Wardens the same legal status as Gauteng’s provincial traffic officers.
Lamola’s spokesperson Chrispin Phiri explained at the time that although the wardens were legally designated as traffic officers, they could still engage in crime-fighting activities, albeit with powers more limited than those of the SAPS.
Lamola was updating the public on the status of the 6,000 wardens — established in February 2023 by Lesufi and then Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko to combat crime in Gauteng’s communities.
IOL further reported that the wardens underwent three months of training at a farm in Cullinan and had made headlines after crashing more than 22 BMW vehicles assigned to them.
“After conducting a thorough analysis of the applicable legal frameworks, it was determined that for the Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens to exercise peace officer powers, they must assume the same legal status as Gauteng provincial traffic officers. Provincial traffic officers currently carry out their duties within the ambit of their peace officer designation, supported by the necessary legal framework,” said Phiri at the time.
The Gauteng government had written to Lamola in June 2023, seeking his approval to designate the wardens as peace officers under Section 334 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977.
Phiri explained that, in terms of Section 334(1)(a), the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services may confer peace officer powers on any person by virtue of their office to exercise authority under the Act for specific offences or categories of offences.
He said Lamola had engaged in discussions with Lesufi and then Police Minister Cele in an attempt to resolve the contentious matter.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News