Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has described the situation facing South Africa’s law enforcement as a kind of war, pointing to tensions between organised crime and a justice system under pressure.
Speaking outside the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria on Thursday, the KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner told reporters that the SAPS is dealing with a difficult battle and that many role-players are involved.
His comments came after a tense series of events involving the Independent Directorate Against Corruption, which had sought to arrest Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo and another senior officer, Major General Nosipho Madondo. Both had gone to the Brooklyn station after learning that arrest warrants had been issued.
Mkhwanazi also went to the station when he heard about the arrests. Reports suggest he later found that a warrant had also been prepared for him. But in a sudden turn, the arrests were stopped, leading to different versions of events and public confusion.
The anti-corruption unit later denied that Khumalo had been arrested and said there was no plan to arrest Mkhwanazi, calling the whole episode a misunderstanding.
The incident has brought to the surface longstanding tensions within the police service and raised fresh questions about coordination and trust among key law enforcement bodies.