Former Police Minister Bheki Cele says he was taken aback by some of the explosive claims made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi earlier this year.
Mkhwanazi accused senior government and police officials of corruption, criminal infiltration, and political interference within South Africa’s justice system — allegations that led to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu being placed on special leave.
Cele appeared before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Thursday, which is probing the allegations. The former minister, who led the Police Ministry from February 2018 to June 2024, would have been responsible for overseeing the operations of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) — the same specialised unit that Mchunu later decided to disband at the end of last year.
“Some of the things he said surprised me — like when he called Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya a criminal,” Cele told the committee. “I’m not a police officer, so I don’t know what it takes for one officer to call another that, but I felt it needed to be properly investigated to get to the facts.”
Cele said while Mkhwanazi’s allegations focus heavily on police corruption, the problem of criminal infiltration extended far beyond the SAPS.
“I think too much focus is on the police,” he said. “If you go into any correctional facility, you’ll find inmates with new cellphones just hours after old ones are confiscated. Those phones don’t walk in there by themselves — someone brings them in.”
On the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team, Cele insisted he was never part of any meeting that decided to dissolve the unit.
“In fact, the Inter-Ministerial Committee I chaired in 2023 made it clear that the task team should continue its work,” he said.
The PKTT was formed to investigate politically motivated murders, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, following a rise in assassinations linked to intra-party rivalries.
Cele’s testimony comes as Parliament continues its inquiry into Mkhwanazi’s far-reaching allegations — a process that has already seen the suspension of Minister Mchunu and is expected to call several high-ranking officials in the coming weeks.