News24 reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has registered a criminal investigation against Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu following claims of political interference in work carried out by a task team into political killings.

In a briefing on Sunday, Mkhwanazi accused the minister of political interference in investigations and having an ulterior motive in disbanding the SA Police Service’s political killings task team, a unit based in KZN.   Mkhwanazi said in March 2025, a total of 121 case dockets under investigation were taken away from the task team as directed by the deputy national commissioner of crime detection, Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya, who was acting on the instruction of Mchunu to disband the task team. In December 2024, Mchunu issued a directive for national police commissioner Lieutenant General Fannie Masemola to disband the task team. At the time, Mchunu claimed it was no longer necessary because it was not adding value to policing in the province. However, Mkhwanazi claimed that there have been no developments in those cases. According to Mkhwanazi, the reason behind the disbandment of the task team into political killings was that the KZN task team had unmasked the syndicate behind the killings, which involved politicians, law enforcement, SAPS, metro police and correctional services, prosecutors, judiciary and controlled by drug cartels as well as businesspeople. Mkhwanazi elaborated on Mchunu’s alleged ties to the underworld and corrupt police officers.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)
• Lees ook, KZN-polisiekommissaris impliseer Mchunu, politici by korrupsie, misdaad, by Maroela Media
• En ook, Bewerings teen hom ‘ongegrond’, sê polisieminister, by Maroela Media

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