Kwazulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has raised serious concerns over Police Minister Senzu Mchunu’s decision to classify the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) report on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm scandal as ‘top secret’. This move has sparked a debate about transparency and accountability in the face of allegations surrounding police conduct during the incident.
Minister Mchunu, known as an ally of President Ramaphosa, staunchly defended his decision to classify the report, suggesting that it was necessary to protect the witnesses involved in the investigation. “No political pressure has been exerted on me to conceal the report from the public,” he asserted, insisting that the classification was a matter of due diligence rather than political machinations.
However, Mkhwanazi’s comments suggest growing unease within police ranks over the classification of the Ipid report, which was completed in October 2023. The report reportedly contains alarming details about police actions during the Phala Phala affair, including allegations of defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping of suspects, unlawful interrogation on the President’s property, and bribery associated with the incident.
The scandal first surfaced when ATM president Vuyo Zungula filed a complaint in June 2022, claiming that senior members of the Crime Intelligence Division were covertly involved in tracing the substantial cash stolen from Ramaphosa’s farmhouse, allegedly hidden within couches. The implications surrounding these allegations underscore a narrative of mistrust and misconduct that continues to taint the police and political apparatus of the country.
Speaking on the matter, Mkhwanazi questioned the rationale behind the Ipid report’s classification by a minister who does not operate within an intelligence framework. “When you hear a Minister of Police say I have a report from Ipid that is classified, you need to ask yourself a question – you are not an intelligence structure and yet you classified a report you don’t want to release,” he expressed, highlighting the need for greater scrutiny and checks in governmental processes.
He further urged for clarity on what the Ipid report was doing in the possession of the minister and posed critical questions regarding the motivations behind its classification. “These are things that need to be checked because this is where the system of government fails. You worked to create legislation to try to protect yourselves and the citizens, but if it is manipulated… the minister can just decide I am classifying this and I am not releasing it to the public.”