On the second day of hearings at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi warned that witnesses in political killings face severe risks, including intimidation, violence, and even assassination. Testifying in Pretoria, he described how fear has driven many witnesses to abandon protection programmes.
Mkhwanazi continued his evidence on the controversial disbandment of the political killings task team, stressing its crucial role in tackling politically motivated crimes. “The immediate and adverse impact of the dissolution of the task team cannot be overstated. This is amply and succinctly set out by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate E. Harrison, in her letter written to me on 10 June 2025,” he said.
He further revealed that of 121 political killings dockets transferred to the national police head office in Pretoria, instructions for five arrests were never carried out. Despite the files being scanned and audited before handover, no action followed. “There is a lot of interference with this investigation in different forms in order to try and close these cases by business people and politicians. By and large, because they are political cases, people on the higher level of the syndicates that are involved are the ones who are behind the closures of dockets,” Mkhwanazi told the inquiry.
Former Corruption Watch Director David Lewis told VOC News that Mkhwanazi’s testimony will likely shape the inquiry’s direction: “The developments are that General Mkhwanazi started giving the first day of what are likely to be three or four days of evidence from him. And then obviously, a lot of other people have to answer this, some of whom will probably corroborate his evidence, others of whom will take issue with this and contradict it. So, it’s very difficult to say what the developments are on day one of what is likely to be a long, fact-intensive inquiry.”
Lewis cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly, while noting Mkhwanazi’s confidence and thoroughness on the stand.
The commission continues to probe the disbandment of the task team amid mounting concerns over political violence in KwaZulu-Natal. Further testimony is expected in the coming days to either corroborate or challenge Mkhwanazi’s claims as the inquiry seeks to uncover the depth of interference and failures in prosecuting politically motivated killings.
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
Photo: Screenshot
