Police and the criminal syndicates

Further details linking suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu to cartel figures emerged.

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

The Madlanga inquiry into police corruption and criminality has heard a dramatic week of testimony that painted a picture of a compromised police services deeply embedded by political interference and criminal cartels.

The inquiry was cut short after crime intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo fell ill, and proceedings will resume on 13 October due to commissioner Sesi Baloyi’s unavailability.

Earlier in the week, Khumalo expanded on claims implicating suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu with evidence drawn from text messages between his ally Brown Mogotsi and murder suspect Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala.

Khumalo described Mokgotsi as a middleman who acted on behalf of Mchunu to channel payments from Matlala in exchange for classified information, alerts about police operations and impeding investigations.

Chaired by retired judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the inquiry is looking into allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about the influence of criminal syndicates in the criminal justice system. The allegations placed Mchunu at the centre of the rot, but he has insisted he is innocent.