Mkhwanazi calls for clarity on IPID investigation withdrawal amid corruption claims

“THE Investigative Police Directorate (IPID) must explain to the commission why it launched and then withdrew an investigation against me - and why it said it was acting on instructions from then Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and later denied this”

- ZOHRA TEKE

That is the view of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who spoke exclusively to JOL this week about his reflections on the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into corruption and political interference in the police and judiciary.

While a preliminary report has been submitted to the President, the commission's probe continues - with key aspects, including IPID’s role, still under intense scrutiny.

Central to the matter, Mkhwanazi says, are two IPID officials who claimed they received a complaint about him from Mchunu, prompting IPID to announce an investigation into the KZN police chief in 2025.

That investigation appears to have quietly fizzled out after a bizarre about-turn: IPID later claimed it was not prompted by the minister but by an anonymous complaint - after which the matter went cold and silent.

When approached by OL, IPID’s official response each time was simply “no further comment” or that the investigation was not complete. According to Mkhwanazi, however, events unfolded very differently.