General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KZN Police Commissioner has called for urgent reforms in South Africa’s police and intelligence services.
This includes independent vetting, lifestyle audits, and a more balanced distribution of responsibilities between national and provincial authorities.
Mkhwanazi warned that the highly centralized structure of the SAPS established after the post-apartheid merger of 11 policing agencies in 1995, has concentrated power in the office of the National Police Commissioner, creating inefficiencies and blurred lines of accountability.
He proposed a model where national authorities focus on priority crimes while provinces handle local enforcement, preventing the National Commissioner from being burdened with minor cases while ensuring accountability at all levels.
He stressed that police officers’ employment should not be unconditional, arguing that tenure should be tied to performance and integrity. Lifestyle audits, he said, are necessary to ensure officers’ assets and spending align with declared income, while vetting procedures should be conducted by an independent body to prevent manipulation and guarantee proper security clearance standards. Drawing on practices used by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
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Mkhwanazi highlighted risk management and ongoing assessments as essential to maintaining integrity within the force. Mkhwanazi also raised concerns about Crime Intelligence, noting that it operates outside standard procedures, including leasing and purchasing buildings that are sometimes not used for their intended purposes. He suggested that if it were up to him, he would remove all current members of Crime Intelligence and start the unit afresh to restore accountability and operational integrity.
In a pointed warning, he indicated that several Members of Parliament are directly implicated in or benefiting from corrupt activities, specifically naming Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard.
Following these revelations, the ANC and MK Party requested that MP Kohler Barnard recuse herself from the committee to avoid conflicts of interest. Mkhwanazi stressed that accountability should be enforced through official structures, such as the JSCI, rather than public grandstanding in the media, to prevent operational compromises and protect the integrity of sensitive intelligence work.
Mkhwanazi concluded by noting that the evidence he presented is only part of the material he has at his disposal and that he is prepared to reveal further proof of wrongdoing if necessary.
He emphasized that these reforms are essential for risk management, accountability, and maintaining public trust, warning that without systemic change, operational integrity and transparency within South Africa’s policing and intelligence services remain at risk.