KZN Premier backs Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi for second term as provincial police boss
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Thami Ntuli has thrown his weight behind provincial police commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, endorsing him for a second term.
Ntuli confirmed the endorsement following high-level engagements with National Police Commissioner Gen. Fannie Masemola last week, just months before Mkhwanazi’s current five-year term expires at the end of March.
The move signals political confidence in a police chief whose tenure has been defined by aggressive crime-fighting and unprecedented public allegations of systemic corruption.
Mkhwanazi has earned a reputation for a hardline, uncompromising approach to organised crime in KZN, one of the country’s most violent provinces.
However, his leadership has also placed him at the centre of a national storm after he made explosive claims in July last year, alleging deep-rooted political interference and criminal capture within the South African Police Service (SAPS) and broader justice system.
Those allegations triggered the establishment of two parallel oversight processes: the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and a parliamentary ad hoc committee.
Both structures are tasked with probing claims that senior law enforcement officials, politicians and business interests may have manipulated investigations, prosecutions and intelligence operations for personal or political gain.
While neither body has yet made final findings, preliminary work by the ad hoc committee has already underscored serious governance failures, raising questions about accountability, command structures and the protection of whistleblowers within the security cluster.
The Madlanga Commission, expected to begin formal hearings later this month, is anticipated to test the credibility of Mkhwanazi’s claims, and his critics, under oath.
Ntuli’s endorsement, framed within Section 207 of the Constitution governing police appointments, comes as Mkhwanazi prepares to return to Parliament to face further questioning by the ad hoc committee.
This is a developing story.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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