Africa-Press – South-Africa. Police minister Senzo Mchunu says he has not received any formal communication regarding the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) decision to drop its investigation into KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
Responding to questions on the matter in a media briefing on Friday, Mchunu stated he was learning about the developments from the media, just like the public.
“I am reading from media together with you. There is nothing formal that has come to me in the form of a report. If there is a withdrawal, then I have not been briefed,” said Mchunu.
Reports emerged on Thursday that Ipid had officially withdrawn its investigation into Mkhwanazi, effectively clearing him of any wrongdoing in relation to allegations of interference in the 2023 arrest of a senior department of correctional services official.
However, Mchunu said Ipid operated independently and was not obligated to consult or inform him when making decisions.
“If there has been a withdrawal, I am not tied to that. It means that they took a decision and they communicated the decision not to me, but to the person they have to deal with in accordance with the way they work and their mandates,” said Mchunu.
He said Ipid decides when it wants to brief the minister.
“They decide on what they brief the minister. They also decide on whatever detail or not detail [they provide]. And you are not expected to say yes or no. You are expected to note what they are saying.”
Mchunu reiterated the independent nature of Ipid’s operations.
“They don’t have to inform us when they take decisions and the nature of decisions that they take.”
Mchunu dismissed notions of a strained relationships between himself and senior police officials.
“If you want to be specific and say, ‘what are my relations with commissioner Mkhwanazi’, they are very good relations. I have very good relations with all [the provincial commissioners]. They’re doing their work well.”
The minister was speaking after the conclusion of the three-day National Policing Summit, where police officials, led by national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, gathered to map out the future of policing in South Africa.
Held under the theme “Efficiency in Action: Optimising South Africa’s Policing Potential”, the summit focused on enhancing law enforcement’s ability to tackle crime effectively.
Meanwhile, the EFF has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Mkhwanazi, labelling the accusations against him “baseless and politically motivated”.
Mkhwanazi, in an interview with Eyewitness News (EWN) earlier this year, suggested the investigation by Ipid was retaliation for his earlier decision to clear police crime intelligence head Maj-Gen Feroz Khan.
Khan has been under scrutiny after officers arrested during a 2021 Johannesburg cocaine bust filed a complaint with Ipid.
Mkhwanazi claimed that when those behind the complaint failed to remove Khan, they targeted him instead.
“They can try whatever they will come up with. They will do this investigation, they can launch any other investigation that they want to. They have got a constitutional right to do that, I can’t stop them, but the truth will always come out,” said Mkhwanazi.
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