During a press briefing on July 6, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi discussed political involvement inside law enforcement structures; General Shadrack Sibiya has responded to these remarks. According to Sibiya, Mkhwanazi was probably mainly referring to the now-defunct Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), which was set up to look into killings that were allegedly motivated by politics.
It was unnecessary to bring up instances from 2007 or discuss persons like the late Nathi Mthethwa from 2011, according to Sibiya, who was disappointed that Mkhwanazi chose to bring up previous concerns. In his words, it was “unfortunate,” and he implied that bringing up old grudges could take focus away from the security industry’s present and future problems. Sibiya argues that, instead of dwelling on past disputes, attention should be directed towards current events surrounding the PKTT and initiatives to counteract political meddling.
He seems to favour productively going forward rather than getting into arguments about the past, which could lead to rekindling old tensions, based on his comments. Invoking the names of persons who have passed away in ongoing arguments could be inappropriate, as Sibiya’s reaction indicated with an air of reverence.
In order to keep one’s integrity and prevent needless conflict, he stressed the significance of treating such debates with care. As a whole, Sibiya advocated for a more proactive stance, saying that we shouldn’t waste time dwelling on the past since it could impede our ability to improve present systems and deal with pressing political and policing issues.