Imagine sitting in your living room, chatting with family or friends, unaware that someone, somewhere, might be listening in. That’s the unsettling warning Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, KwaZulu-Natal’s top cop, dropped during a recent parliamentary hearing. Speaking to a special committee digging into corruption within South Africa’s justice system, Mkhwanazi didn’t hold back, exposing a dark side of the police’s Crime Intelligence unit that’s left many South Africans rattled.
“There are gadgets out there, listening to you,” Mkhwanazi said, pointing the finger at rogue officers within Crime Intelligence. He claimed some “bad apples” in the unit have been using high-tech surveillance tools to snoop on private conversations, and this isn’t a new problem—it’s been going on since at least 2011. Referencing the scandal-plagued era of former Crime Intelligence boss Richard Mdluli, Mkhwanazi hinted that some of Mdluli’s allies are still pulling strings, using these tools to spy on ordinary people.
But it gets worse. Mkhwanazi revealed how some corrupt officers have been milking the system for years, even manipulating high-ranking officials. In one jaw-dropping example, he said Crime Intelligence misused around R200,000 from a secret fund to build a massive wall around the private home of former Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa back in 2011. The wall, Mkhwanazi noted, was less about security and more about holding leverage over Mthethwa to fuel further corruption. “You can still see that wall today,” he told the committee, a visible reminder of unchecked greed.
Mkhwanazi didn’t stop there. He accused these rogue elements of influencing top officials, meddling with parliamentary oversight, and even dodging accountability from bodies like the Inspector General of Intelligence. “Crime Intelligence has been doing a lot of bad things,” he said plainly, urging that the unit be scrapped entirely to root out the rot and start fresh.
His testimony has sparked outrage and demands for action. Political parties, including the ANC, MKP, and Patriotic Alliance, are calling for DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard to step aside from the committee after Mkhwanazi suggested she mishandled sensitive information. The committee’s chair, Molapi Soviet Lekganyane, stressed that anyone implicated needs to stay out to keep the investigation fair.
This isn’t Mkhwanazi’s first time sounding the alarm. Earlier this year, he took aim at suspended Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, accusing him of covering up crimes. While some praise Mkhwanazi’s courage, others warn that his revelations could shake the country to its core.
For everyday South Africans, the idea that their private moments might be under surveillance is a gut punch. Mkhwanazi’s warning has left many wondering: just how safe are our conversations? As the investigation rolls on, pressure is mounting on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to clean house—or risk losing the public’s trust entirely.